performing a part in one's own play; playing a musical piece that one has written; doing everything by oneself (from preparation to execution); put-up job; charade; sock-puppeting (i.e. pretending to be more than one person on the Internet)
to pile up; to heap up; to stir up; to enliven; to bring to a climax
inheritance; something given or received
top brass; upper echelon; higher-ups; top management; upper reaches; top of the pile
true character; true heart; true spirit
appraisal; estimation; evaluation; setting prices
to give thought to; to bear in mind; to keep in mind
listening device; bug; wiretap
minor; small; minor (key, scale, etc.); the minor leagues (US baseball)
disputed territory; conflict area
readiness to cooperate; framework for cooperation
to change into; to be transformed; to be transfigured; to transform; to alter; to convert
to fan (oneself, flames, etc.); to flap (in the wind); to instigate; to stir up; to drive up prices (by buying a large amount of something); to take a photo from a low angle; to tailgate
preparation; arrangements
to mishear; to hear wrongly; to misunderstand
opposite side; reverse; (on the) other hand
to throw open; to leave open
awkward; uncomfortable; embarrassing
bell (used for summoning or signalling); buzzer
to draw in; to take in; to retract; to withdraw; to take back (e.g. words)
cheerful; merry; sunny; bright (sky, day, etc.); fine; clear
to fade; to lose colour (color); to discolour (discolor)
little by little; bit by bit; sparingly
disaster; accident; calamity; catastrophe
cool-headed; level-headed; hard-headed
to pull in (fish); to land
to be unable to; to find difficult (unpleasant, awkward, painful) to do; to serve two or more functions or roles simultaneously; to contain (or combine) two or more features; to work in two or more jobs simultaneously (positions, etc.); to do alongside
swing; shake; appearance; behaviour; pretence (pretense); show; going to restaurant, hotel etc. without a reservation or introduction
to make something look better; to put into (good, better) shape; to put up a front; to pose; to pretend
one's nature; one's destiny; custom; tradition; habit
slowly; inefficiently; tardily; dawdling
to open the lid; to lift a lid; to open the lid (on); to make public; to start (something); to look at the results (consequences, outcome, effect)
blind spot (e.g. of a driver); dead angle; dead ground; dead space
jam-packed; packed in like sardines
reduction by half; halving