bluff; false show of power; bold front
being a poor loser; unwillingness to admit defeat; sour grapes
either way; in any case; one way or another
to stay on; to remain; to hold out; to stop (doing); to give up
to be sore; to be inflamed; to be bleary; to be dissipated; to be dissolute; to indulge in
combination; assortment; matching (in a contest); pairing; combination
to guess; to sense; to presume; to sympathize with; to sympathise with
to fall forward (of a person); to tumble forward
graduation; completion (of a course); moving on (from); outgrowing (something); leaving (a group, company, etc.)
trace; vestige; mark; sign; evidence
substitute; replacement; stand-in; proxy; compensation; exchange
future (usually near); prospects
unexpected; unforeseen; strange
to feel anxious; to feel nervous; fluttering down; trickling down (e.g. tears); hanging untidily (of hair); straggling
even if ...; even supposing that ...; also as ...; also for ...; also from the position of ...
assault; outrage; act of violence; rape; sexual assault
to strike; to hit; to beat; to punch
answer; reply; response; answer; solution; result
diagonally upward; (going in a) completely unexpected direction (of a story, result, etc.)
romance (e.g. Arthurian romances); heroic tale; (nigh) impossible dream; adventurous spirit; (full-length) novel; romance
adventure; venture; venture which is unlikely to succeed; risky attempt; danger
as one wishes; the way one wants; to one's satisfaction
hitting the maximum value of a numeric counter
infinity; infinitude; eternity; infinite; limitless
that's a different matter; that's a different story
difficulty; hardship; trouble; infeasibility; inability (to carry out)
clear; clearing (a bar, hurdle, etc.); overcoming; getting through; clearing (the ball); clearing (e.g. a checked box)
even so (expressing frustration, etc.); still
vague; ambiguous; shady; disreputable; fuzzy
to lose (money, etc.); to waste one's (time, etc.); to have one's efforts come to naught
unhappiness; sorrow; misfortune; death (usu. of a relative); bereavement
lower layer; layer beneath; lower strata (classes)
amendment; correction; revision; modification; alteration; retouching
to become better; to improve
top; top position; senior management; senior bureaucrat