background; scenery; background (of an incident, situation, etc.); circumstances; backing; support (from behind the scenes)
essential; important; crucial; vital; main
to haul in (hand over hand); to pull in; to draw in; to trace (history, threads of a story, etc.); to retrace (e.g. memories); to go over
limited; limiting; restrictive
to forget something ever existed; to pretend something didn't happen; to put something behind one; to forgive (something)
appearance; air; condition; state; form
to deliver; to extradite; to stretch across; to hand over
guidance; leading; induction; introduction; incitement; inducement
how many times; how often
failure; mistake; blunder
to filch; to snatch; to steal (an idea, work, etc.); to plagiarize; to arrest; to nab
courage; bravery; pluck; nerve; grit; guts
station (esp. a police station); office (e.g. tax office)
to be indelibly stained or ingrained; to be dyed in deeply
toes; tips of the toes; toe of a shoe, sock, etc.
meeting; rendezvous; encounter; confluence
presumptuous; impertinent; impudent; ridiculous; laughable; absurd
lost article; something forgotten
dialogue; discussion; conversation; interaction
selfish; egoist; (arch.) self-indulgent; (arch.) wilful; (arch.) willful
to stop talking; to break off; to pause
to guess; to conjecture; to surmise
to put on (one's head); to wear; to be covered with (dust, snow, etc.); to pour (water, etc.) on oneself; to bear (e.g. someone's debts, faults, etc.); to take (blame); to overlap (e.g. sound or color)
pleasant feeling; good feeling
to glance at; to look at; to scan; to run one's eyes over
enumeration; citation; listing
approximation; rough estimate; ballpark figure
hardly any; almost nonexistent; very little
simile; metaphor; allegory; parable
actual existence; real existence; existing in real life
if anything; if pushed I'd say; if I had to say
labour shortage; labor shortage; shortage of workers; shortage of hands
extremely; in the extreme; knows no bounds (e.g. rudeness); boundless (e.g. universe, ocean); limitless
dangerous; critical; grave; uncertain; unreliable; dodgy
person with whom to speak; someone to talk to; companion; advisor; adviser
to turn against; to become an enemy
to deduct; to take away; to make allowances for something; to bear something in mind; to ebb and flow
assailant; perpetrator; wrong-doer; aggressor
to shut oneself in (e.g. one's room); to be confined in; to be filled with (emotion, enthusiasm, etc.); to fill the room (of a gas, smell, etc.); to be heavy with (e.g. smoke); to be muffled (e.g. voice); to hold (a castle, fortress, etc.)
really; very; extremely; (not) anything; (not) at all; (not) a bit
uncertain; vague; ambiguous