it cannot be that...; it is highly unlikely that...; it is impossible that...
deadly serious; deadly earnest
until now; so far; up to the present
keeping a domestic animal beyond its useful life; keeping a person on the payroll without utilizing their skills
to be selected (from among many people)
highest grade; superlative degree
easy; trifling; harmless; nothing of the sort; not at all
(abstract) symbol; emblem; representation
prohibition; inhibition; ban
forevermore; for eternity
if so; in that case; in that situation
obstruction; check; hindrance; prevention; impediment; interdiction
matter for great congratulation
trouble; hardship; difficulty; anxiety; worry; concern
worry; fear; anxiety; concern
tensely; tightly; erectly; intuitively; instinctively; with a burst
appearance; shape; form; atmosphere; look; feel
to change; to alter; to reform; to correct; to examine; to check
to clear up; to clear away; to refresh (e.g. spirits); to be cleared (e.g. of a suspicion); to be dispelled; to be banished
freedom; free man; free woman
together (with); at the same time; in a lump
not straightforward; not dealt with by ordinary means
to refuse; to decline; to deny
(social) class; rank; grade
watchdog; chaperone; watcher
of course; certainly; naturally
failure; mistake; blunder
retrogression; reversal; relapse; doubling back; backtracking
honest; frank; candid; honestly; frankly
expedient; means; instrument; upaya (skillful means, methods of teaching)
scene; setting; scene (in a movie, play); shot; state of the market
being lost for words; becoming speechless; jueju (Chinese quatrain with lines of either five or seven syllables)
compulsion; coercion; forcing (to do); enforcement
having had enough (of); fed up (with); sick and tired (of); to learn one's lesson; to learn from a bad experience
death; decease; (arch.) death penalty (by strangulation or decapitation); (an) out
to follow around; to shadow; to tag along; to haunt one (e.g. feeling, failure); to follow one
brave general; brave warrior; courageous general
electric shock; blitz; lightning attack; sudden and without warning; shocking
leaving out; omitting; skipping; (beating) in succession; in a row