to pilfer; to filch; to swipe
beating someone up by ganging up on them; facing a barrage of criticism
after all is said and done; no matter what people say; in the end; definitely; undeniably
to be unable to understand; to baffle one's understanding; to be beyond one's comprehension
tightly; exactly; precisely; close-fitting (e.g. suit); firm (body); lean
advance guard; vanguard; avant-garde (e.g. music)
to distinguish between; to tell the difference between
sword skills; swordsmanship
drawing a sword; drawn sword
with a whiff; with a puff; suddenly; abruptly; without warning
cunning deed; sly trick; foul play; cunning person; sly fellow; cheat
long sword (esp. the tachi, worn on the hip edge down by samurai); large sword; straight single-edged Japanese sword (from the mid-Heian period or earlier)
secret techniques (of an art or skill); inner mysteries; essence; quintessence; heart
cultivation; refinement; culture; education
curiosity; inquisitiveness
preference; priority; precedence
to change the subject (e.g. away from something awkward or inconvenient)
small mercy (from some misfortune); silver lining of a dark cloud; consolation in sadness; blessing in disguise
to find a clear solution; to come to a clean decision; to give a clear explanation; to divide exactly (without remainder); to divide evenly
(turned out) all right in the end
at any rate; in any case; at the very least; if nothing else
good; excellent; fine; nice; pleasant; agreeable
early (days); initial stage; initial
four arithmetic operations; basic arithmetic operations
suffix appended to somebody else's family members
column; beam; girder; digit; decade; order of magnitude
equality; uniformity; evenness
sophism; chop logic; far-fetched argument; quibble; cavil; argument for argument's sake
one way or another; in many ways; in various ways
to knead; to mix with fingers; to quibble; to argue for argument's sake
to try and do something; to attempt to do something
trouble; problem; mess; difficulty; nuisance
to turn back; to go back; to come back; to return; to retrace one's steps
third day of the month; three days
without eating or drinking