face; honour; honor; appearance; look
older brother; elder brother; brother (as older-brother figure in friendly and or work relationship); young man; buddy
pretext; history; past; according to ...; ... says
keenly; deeply; calmly; quietly; fixedly (e.g. gazing, staring)
one's wife; wife (of somebody below the speaker in rank)
to manage (to do successfully); to get through
preparation; arrangements; provision; getting ready; laying out (e.g. a meal)
well; in good health; safe; free from accident
investigation (e.g. into someone's guilt); questioning; pressing; catching up; overtaking
you must be kidding; hey, come on!; surely not!
to disagree; to dispute; to fight (over)
to displease; to offend; to hurt (a person's) feelings
to apply pressure (on); to bring pressure upon; to lean on
needless fear; groundless apprehension; unfounded worry
what are we going to do?; uh-oh; oh crap; what a mess; oh brother
framework (of a building); foundation; mainstay; support; supporter
to collapse; to crumble; to get out of shape; to lose one's shape; to break down; to be thrown into disarray; to crash (stock market)
concrete; definite; specific; material; substantial
to bear; to carry on one's back; to take responsibility for; to accept a duty; to receive (wound); to incur (damage)
being outnumbered (e.g. in a military context)
leading player; prima donna; box-office star; best item one has (to show); one's sole Sunday best; one's single area of expertise
to be intolerable; to be unpardonable
acceptable; satisfactory; approval; being in favour; Pass (grade); Fair
without; unacceptable; not alright; unsatisfactory
wrong; bad; not allowed; not possible; failing grade
something or other; one thing or another; this or that
(emotional) backbone; support; backbone (of a network)
selection; choice; choosing; picking; election
to leave a trail; to leave traces; to have a lasting effect
nucleus; backbone; medium-level; mid-level; main body (of troops); crack troops
class; heading; group; category
administration; governance; the authorities; authority
to engage in; to participate in; to take part in; to be involved in
recommendation; advice; suggestion; encouragement
to launch oneself upon; to make one's debut
vote; ballot; label; ticket; tag
being elected; being selected (to win a prize, etc.); winning (in a lottery, raffle, etc.)
kernel; core; nucleus; center; centre