intercept; interception; counter-attack
robot; (mere) puppet; pawn; figurehead
goes without saying; needless to say; obvious
in appearance; to look at; judging from appearances
stone (of a fruit); pit; core (of an organization, team, etc.); nucleus; nuclear weapons; nucleus (of an atom); nucleus (of a cell)
to be blown off; to blow off; to blow away; to vanish; to disappear
to shut; to close; to block (a street, entrance, etc.); to shut in (with snow, ice, etc.); to shut off; to consume (with negative feelings)
not worth mentioning (with neg. verb); nothing special
private; foot soldier; infantryman; underling; low level worker; minor player
to set off to advantage; to bring into prominence; to support; to favor; to rouse (spirits); to march (a prisoner) off
upper floor; upstairs; top of the stairs
sprinkling (of rain, salt, etc.); pattering; flipping (through a book, etc.); riffling; sparse; scattered
smallish; on the small side
conference room; council room
to press down; to hold down; to pin down; to suppress (feelings, disorder, opposition, etc.); to repress
time required; time taken; necessary time
slapping; splashing; splatting; banging shut; flat (refusal, denial, etc.)
hand-to-hand fighting; grappling; scuffling
swing; shake; appearance; behaviour; pretence (pretense); show; going to restaurant, hotel etc. without a reservation or introduction
hand used like a sword in striking
to tie; to fasten; to hitch; to secure (trust, patronage of customers, etc.); to keep (an employee, someone's interest, etc.); to save (someone's life)
discrimination; discernment; identification
switching over to; migration; transition
outside world; physical world
to kick about; to kick around; to scatter (a crowd, the enemy, etc.); to rout
from the beginning; from the first; all along; of course
having no choice; at a loss for what to do; at one's wits' end
these guys; these fellows
diversion (action meant to attract attention away from the real objective); feint
telecommunications; correspondence
completely ordinary; plain; commonplace; everyday
cool; indifferent; apathetic; cold; cold-hearted; heartless
query; interrogation; enquiry; question; inquiry
sense; idea; desire; concern; attention; care
loudly (wailing, making a noise, etc.)