taking part on the spur of the moment; participating without registering beforehand; last-minute entrant; specking on flower petals
irritation; annoyance; frustration
to underrate; to belittle; to look down on; to despise
one more; another; not quite; close run; just falling short of success
black magic; sorcery; magic tricks; juggling
leaving; going home; quitting one's job; free time; leisure
parting gift; remembrance; aftereffect
advance warning; previous notice; announcement; herald; harbinger; forerunner
appearance; arrival; make one's appearance
weird; disgusting; sickening
to call a person's attention (to)
what; what sort of thing; everything; anything; what (on earth)?; what's the meaning of this ...?
to entangle; to entwine; to pick a quarrel; to find fault; to be involved with; to be influenced by
to remain; to abide; to stay (in the one place); to be limited to; to be confined to; to only account for
aperture; bore; calibre; caliber
performance; trick; feat; extraordinary deed; daring act; bold move
to get torn; to tear; to rip; to be broken off (of negotiations, etc.); to break down; to collapse
pair; couple; antithesis; counter for items that come in pairs; counter for sets (of clothes, small furniture, utensils, etc.)
orbit; trajectory; railroad track; (right) track; proper course
madness; insanity; irregularity; deviation; fanaticism; fanatic
whispering; whisper; secret talk; murmur
early; a little earlier than usual; a little faster than usual; slightly quicker
reason of being; raison d'être; meaning of one's existence
destructive power; destructive energy; destructive force
to be contrary; to run counter (to); to conflict (with); to disagree (with)
crucible; melting pot; melting pot (of cultures, ideas, etc.); state of ecstasy; state of fevered excitement
shameful; disgraceful; indecent; unseemly; unbecoming; improper
beyond this point; from now on; after this
as many as one likes; as much as one likes; great many; plenty; almost (none); (not) much
perfectly; right on the mark; spot on; enough; sufficiently; thoroughly
reinforcement; augmentation; strengthening; increase; buildup
beyond expectations; beyond what one expected; not foreseen; exceeding assumptions
to rest (from work, studying, etc.); to take a break
to intercommunicate; to exchange (messages, vows, etc.)
worn-out; ragged; crumbling; dry and crumbly; falling (in drops or clumps); scattering
closely contested constituency; highly competitive marketplace; (fig.) battleground
long-serving soldier; veteran
meaning; tenor; effect; influence; appearance; aspect
to take the name of; to call oneself; to pretend; to feign; to purport