state of affairs; situation; conditions; circumstances
suspicious-looking; shady; questionable; dubious; fishy
talk; speech; topic; subject; discussions; negotiation; rumor
beginning; outset; first; onset
to lend an ear to; to listen to
to restrict; to limit; to be restricted to; to be limited to; to be best (for); to be the best plan
to trick; to cheat; to deceive; to coax; to wheedle; to soothe
(smelling) strongly; pungently; angrily; furiously; indignantly
fraud; swindle; graft; saying you're going to do something but in the end not doing it; making promises without keeping them; flaking out
to meet; to encounter; to see; to have an accident; to have a bad experience
to operate (e.g. a machine); to handle; to have a good command of (a language); to play proficiently (of a musical instrument); to work (a puppet); to pull the strings of a puppet
tactics; strategy; military operation; naval operation
to believe; to believe in; to place trust in; to confide in; to have faith in
and yet; though; when; in spite of
miserable; pitiable; shameful; deplorable; pathetic
to speak; to say; to vocalize
diligently; seriously; perfectly; properly; sufficiently; satisfactorily
to give (esp. to someone of lower status); to bestow; to provide; to afford; to assign; to cause
it is assuredly that ...; can say with confidence that ...; did not ...
to doubt; to distrust; to be suspicious of; to suspect
natural; right; proper; naturally; as a matter of course; rightly
to taste; to eat; to drink; to speak (of); to put into words; to refer (to)
what!; oh; what the heck; what the; damn
favourite book; favorite book
to write; to compose; to pen; to draw; to paint
certain; sure; no doubt; reliable; dependable
once; one time; one round; one game; one bout; one heat
never mind that; don't worry about that; listen up
absolutely; definitely; absolute; unconditional; absoluteness
how many times; how many degrees (temperature, angle, etc.)
to pray; to say a prayer; to say grace; to wish; to hope
to save; to rescue; to help; to assist; to support (financially); to contribute (to)
from now on; after this; in the future; from here; from this point
language; dialect; word; phrase; speech; (manner of) speaking
no good; not serving its purpose; hopeless; wasted; cannot; must not
wanting (to have); desiring; wishing for; I want (you, them, etc.) to (do)
to raise; to raise up; to wake; to wake up; to cause; to bring about; to start
through; throughout; through (the good offices of); by way of
nothing but; except; no more than
approximately; about; to (about) the extent that; (almost) enough that; as ... as ...; like