dreary; bleak; monotonous; tasteless; unrefined
wintry; very cold-looking (e.g. landscape); bleak (e.g. room, street); desolate; empty (of furnishings)
to show; to bare (the teeth)
to stagnate; to settle (at the bottom); to deposit; to become sluggish; to become dull; to be delayed
smelling of earth; rustic
ruin; destruction; devastation; waste; decay
to light (a candle, lamp, etc.); to turn on (a light)
to work hard; to toil; to moil; to keep one's nose to the grindstone; to slug away
to eat; to live; to make a living; to bite; to sting (as insects do); to tease; to torment
to get; to obtain; to come by; to find
to cross; to go across; to go through; to cut across
by itself; automatically; naturally
affectation; showiness; pretence
oblong; vertical writing style (e.g. on envelopes); portrait orientation
pine tree (Pinus spp.); highest (of a three-tier ranking system)
wood; lumber; (raw) material; stuff; talent; ability
crude; rough; plain; humble; shabby
repeatedly; over and over again; several layers deep; layer upon layer; row upon row
much more; still more; single layer (or storey, etc.); (arch.) rather; (arch.) sooner
miserable; wretched; lonely; dreary; shabby; comfortless
boy; juvenile; young boy; youth; lad
pity; sorrow; pitiable; pitiful; alack; alas
to look at; to gaze; to stare at
to shake; to swing; to sway; to shock
groan; moan; roar; howl; hum (e.g. motor); buzz (e.g. bee, wire in wind)
wainscoting; wainscotting; wood paneling
mouse; rat; dark gray; dark grey; slate (color, colour)
to be solved; to be resolved; to loosen; to come untied; to be removed (of restrictions); to be lifted (e.g. a ban)
back (esp. of a building, etc.); rear; behind
Prunus zippeliana (East Asian species of prunus)
poplar (esp. Lombardy poplar, Populus nigra var. italica)
to rustle; to sway; to stir; to flutter
door (esp. Japanese-style); shutter; window shutter; (arch.) entrance (to a home); (arch.) narrows
creak; squeak; creaking; discord; strife; friction
piece(s) of firewood (esp. chopped or split from logs); kindling (twigs, branches, etc.); firewood
to burst open; to pop; to split
weak point; vulnerable point; Achilles' heel
streaming (of tears); pouring; pouring (of rain or sweat)
period; epoch; the times; those days; oldness; ancientness