extended leave; long vacation
emptiness; hollowness; vacancy; inanity; pointlessness; meaninglessness
to mediate; to intervene; to smooth
cartoon; comic; comic strip; manga
marital quarrel; argument between husband and wife
married couple; husband and wife; man and wife; his and hers; pair of objects, one larger (for man), one smaller (for woman)
dangerous; perilous; threatening; stern (expression); hostile (attitude); sharp
puzzling; tangled; complicated; complex
twenty-second day of the month; twenty-two days
busy; hurried; confused; flurried
previous day; day before; eve; prior day; preceding day
small case with wheels; large bag with handles; carry bag
parting; separation; farewell
to take along; to hold in the hand; to hang (e.g. from the shoulder or waist)
reception room; parlor; parlour
counter for occurrences; a time; an instance; inning (baseball); round; episode; chapter
to bail out (water); to scoop out
to clench (teeth); to engage (gears); to set to fighting
dealing with (people, customers, complaints, etc.); receiving (callers, visitors, etc.); attending to; handling; serving
returning from school; going home from school
reluctant; unwilling; involuntary; unintentional; unintended; unlooked-for
to be crowded; to be packed; to be complex
to invite; to ask (someone to do); to tempt; to lure; to induce (tears, laughter, sleepiness, etc.); to arouse (e.g. sympathy)
New Year's Eve; December 31
foreign; abroad; overseas
daughter; girl (i.e. a young, unmarried woman)
rightly or wrongly; by all possible means
treating someone like a child
eyes sparkling; with shining eyes; for one's eyes to gleam
to come and stay; to drop in; to visit
crisp (e.g. potato chip, fried fish, etc.); crunchy; grumpily; touchily; scratching
kapow; bang; bulging; filled to bursting; prostitute (catering to Occupation soldiers in Japan after WWII)
to be at wits' end; to be greatly perplexed; to be troubled
poor; pitiable; pathetic; pitiful
news; word; tidings; omen
slander; bad-mouthing; abuse; insult; speaking ill (of)
by all means; by all costs