lizard; skink lizard (Scincidae spp.)
living thing; organism; creature; biology
dragon (as depicted in Western myths)
fierce look; frightening look; tough look; aggressive attitude; coercive attitude; taking a hard line
dark brown; colour of tanned skin
black with hints of blue (as in a bruise); bluish black
invulnerability; immortality; insensibility to pain
fingers; fingertips; underling; stooge; tool
hobby; pastime; tastes; preference; liking
to happen to have on hand or in stock
to fill (with); to be filled with; to express (an emotion); to project (sadness, joy, etc.); to wear (e.g. a smile)
astonishing; amazing; surprising; wonderful
encroachment; erosion; corrosion
to bear in mind; to keep remembering; to note
to be urgent; to be pressing; to be imminent
to say no more; to sink into silence
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
to take care; to mind; to be attentive
to abuse; to exploit to the full; to give free rein to
ability; competency; talent; skill; capacity
regarding as important; attaching importance to; taking a serious view of; putting emphasis on
in a sense; in some way; to an extent
fortuitous; luck; windfall; godsend; good fortune
to follow in order; to go through step-by-step
indicates uncertainty or second hand nature of information quoted
ramification; branching off
acting rashly; running wildly; runaway (process); reckless baserunning
to challenge (a person) to a fight
to be very far apart from; to be remote; to be quite different from
to make sense; to be meaningful
given the situation; now that it has come to this; if it comes to this
out of control; out of hand; unmanageable; nothing one can do
no one knows what the future holds; the future is a closed book; (lit.) one sun (unit of measurement) ahead is darkness
retrogression; reversal; relapse; doubling back; backtracking
first; foremost; most important; best; greatest; above all