beginning; clue; starting point
casual; unconcerned; nonchalant
easy; trifling; harmless; nothing of the sort; not at all
instability; insecurity; crankiness
to attack the enemy in his unguarded moment
to be too late; to be too slow
because; the reason is; if you want to know why
handy; convenient; suitable; reasonable; moderate
pole; rod; line; dash; spoken monotonously
(cutting) with a single stroke; lopping off (branches, etc.); (cutting hair) short; drastically (slash a budget, etc.); resolutely; ruthlessly (discard, etc.)
to cut off; to lop off; to prune
section; cross section; profile
exactly; nicely; to a tee; to be fitting
to chip; to be chipped; to be missing (from a set, team, etc.); to be absent; to be lacking (in); to be short (of)
or; either ... or; maybe; perhaps; some ... and others ...; sometimes ... and at other times ...
toy; (person or thing treated as a) plaything
bad job; poor workmanship; bungle
shrill; piercing (scream, etc.)
yikes!; eek!; ook; eek; customer
to scream; to whine; to grumble; to complain
to fall on one's backside
to stiffen; to become stiff
convulsion; cramp; spasm; tic; twitch; fit
to throw away; to cast away; to abandon; to desert; to give up; to resign
friendly chat; pleasant chat; lighthearted talk; friendly conversation
to lose consciousness; to faint; to black out
to amuse oneself; to make merry
with a start; with a jump
to jump; to leap; to break up; to close; to hit (e.g. to have a car hit something or someone)
uncharacteristic; unbefitting; unworthy (of)
to turn aside adroitly; to dodge
blank space (in documents); vacuum; blank; void
to come to one's senses; to calm down
to put on the brakes; to put a stop to
hard (on the ears); offensive (to the ear); rasping; rough; harsh; grating
to reverberate; to resound; to echo; to have one's fame spread; to be renowned
buttocks; behind; undersurface; bottom; last place; end
to float; to become merry; to be cheerful; to become loose; to become unsteady; to feel out of it; to be cut off (e.g. from those around you)
to jump down; to jump off; to jump from; to jump out of