close friend; bosom friend; buddy; crony; chum
moisture; damp; richness; warmth; financial leeway; gains
admirable; commendable; praiseworthy; laudable; brave; heroic
tender; kind; gentle; graceful; affectionate; amiable
fragment; broken piece; chip; ounce (of truth, conscience, etc.); trace; shred
stinging (pain); smarting; tingling
surrender; submission; capitulation; being defeated (e.g. by a problem); giving up; giving in
malicious; deliberately mean
smirkingly; broadly (grinning)
space alien; alien; extraterrestrial being
triumphant pose assumed by an athlete
leading part; leading actor; leading actress
Christmas cake; unmarried woman above the age of 25
(a) step ahead; (a) jump ahead
concept; general idea; notion; intention; aim; design
stollen; German fruit cake
bûche de Noël; Yule log (cake)
to pile up; to heap up; to stir up; to enliven; to bring to a climax
uh-huh; mm-hmm; with a moan; with a groan
business; trade; operations; sales
time; (the) hour; favourable time; opportunity; chance
to be crowded with people; to be bustling with; to prosper; to flourish; to do thriving business
another helping; second helping; seconds; command to have dog place its second paw in one's hand
or rather (say); or better (say); or perhaps I should say; or, how should I put it,...; I mean
wild beast; wild animal; brute
to put out one's tongue; to stick out one's tongue
follow; following (on social media, esp. Twitter); follow-up; following up; backing-up; covering for; follow-up shot
divergence; alienation; deviation; estrangement; separation; detachment
to measure; to weigh; to survey; to conjecture; to infer; to surmise
to swell; to rise; to bulge; to rouse; to get excited
apple; Apple (computer company)
to crush (with one's hands); to kill a proposal; to shelve; to table (remove from consideration)
sensitive; alert; aware; susceptible
to perceive; to sense; to take in; to grasp; to feel
rule; regulation; settlement; conclusion; habit; custom
indomitably; undauntedly; resolutely; determinedly
plans; arrangement; schedule; program; programme; expectation
briskly; quickly; promptly