to hold on to something (secret, lead in a race, etc.)
condition; situation; prospects
(sudden) change; reversal; turn-around; coming from behind (baseball)
of uncertain meaning; ambiguous; cryptic; nonsensical; incomprehensible; perplexing
horizontal (as opposed to vertical); lying down; side-to-side (as opposed to front-to-back); width; side (of a box, etc.); beside
gradually; steadily; slowly; little by little; step by step; by degrees
to stuff into; to jam; to shorten; to move closer together; to reduce (spending); to conserve; to focus intently on
selection; choice; option
chance to win; opportunity to win; chance of victory
to give birth; to bear (child); to lay (eggs); to produce; to yield; to give rise to
mobile telephone; cellular telephone
convenient; handy; useful
instant; moment; (split) second; (in a) flash; (in the) blink of an eye
to keep in contact (e.g. by phone, mail, etc.); to keep in touch
when it comes to ...; where ... is concerned; if it's the case that ...; if it turns out that ...; if it's true that ...
distant view; looking from a distance; good long distance vision; farsightedness
surely; undoubtedly; sternly; severely; having no slack; rigid
to be confused; to be bewildered; to be taken aback
whispering into a person's ear
roughly; approximately; (cutting) in one stroke; (breaking apart) with vigour; (cutting) deeply; (splitting) wide open
explanation; exposition; description; account; caption; legend
I fear that it's likely that; with all due respect
leaving a decision to someone else (often of a meal to be selected by the chef); omakase
to come down; to go down; to hang; to dangle; to move back; to step back; to deteriorate
defense; defence; safeguard; protection
to penetrate; to sink in; to devote oneself (to); to do intently and exclusively; to do throughout (e.g. the night)
indication; denotation; designation; instructions; directions
to return; to come back; to turn over; to become extremely; to become completely
to believe; to believe in; to place trust in; to confide in; to have faith in
to give; to let (one) have; to give; to do for one; to take the trouble to do; to do to someone's disadvantage
preparation; arrangements; getting ready; provision; setup; reserving
to be ready; to be prepared; to be in order; to be put in order; to be adjusted; to be regulated
tactics; strategy; military operation; naval operation
start; commencement; beginning; initiation
before one's very eyes; under one's nose; imminence; close at hand
to approach; to draw near; to be imminent; to press (someone for something); to urge; to compel
while; even though; despite
group; crowd; flock; herd; bevy; school
to thrust (something) into (something); to cram; to plunge into; to charge into; to delve into (a matter); to go into depth; to press (someone) about