middle grades of primary school (third and fourth grades)
site (e.g. room, building) especially prepared for a meeting (event, etc.)
sowing beans (or pulses, etc.); scattering parched beans (to drive out evil spirits)
crisp (e.g. potato chip, fried fish, etc.); crunchy; grumpily; touchily; scratching
the most one can do; the best one can do; the best one can expect
to melt (and become soft or liquid); to be enchanted (by); to be charmed; to be bewitched
don't worry; no worries; never mind
to think; to consider; to think (of doing); to plan (to do); to judge; to assess; to imagine
precious; valuable; priceless; noble; exalted; sacred
obstinate; inflexible; thickheaded
pretending not to see something; turning a blind eye to; burying one's head in the sand
fourteenth day of the month; fourteen days
to put away; to stow away; to tuck away; to hoard
what would (you) do?; what to do about it
sales battle; business competition
to count on one's fingers
receiving in advance (e.g. wages, interest); taking before others; anticipation; being ahead of (e.g. the times); prefetch; anticipatory completion (i.e. finishing another's sentence)
to use and then throw away
to be dented; to be indented; to be beaten; to be overwhelmed; to be disheartened; to feel down
year by year; annually; every year; from year to year
White Day (March 14); day for giving white chocolate and other presents to female coworkers and friends in return for gifts received on Valentine's day
being put to shame; being outshone; being eclipsed; feeling embarrassed
to gouge out; to excavate; to hollow; to bore; to drill; to carve (e.g. pumpkin)
to take shape; to look good enough to be shown publicly
to grumble; to gripe; to complain
to warp; to bend; to contort; to be perverted; to be warped (of a view, mind, etc.); to be distorted
helping hand; help; support; aid
bog; marsh; swamp; quandary; dire situation from which one cannot extricate oneself; imbroglio
muffler; scarf; comforter; muffler (for a vehicle exhaust); silencer
to be weary; to be worn out; to be fed up (with); to be sick of; to be dejected; to be dispirited
fingers; fingertips; underling; stooge; tool
insight; power of observation
to be mixed together; to be blended; to intermingle; to commingle
or rather (say); or better (say); or perhaps I should say; or, how should I put it; I mean
to all appearances; no matter how you look at it
presentation (e.g. of a gift)
from the beginning; from scratch