electric shock; blitz; lightning attack; sudden and without warning; shocking
lightly; easily; carelessly
to catch up (with); to draw level; to pull even; to be compensated; to make up for one's losses
wall; partition; barrier; obstacle; Chinese "Wall" constellation (one of the 28 mansions)
crevice; crack; spare moment; interval; chink (in one's armor, armour); unpreparedness
out of necessity; with no other option; perforce; unavoidably; reluctantly; unwillingly
to endure; to keep out (e.g. rain); to pull through; to get over; to surpass; to outdo
shock; tremor; impact; vibration
to shake; to jolt; to shake (e.g. the political world); to disturb; to put off a batter (by varying one's type of pitch)
iron wall; impregnable fortress; impregnable; invulnerable; unassailable
to fuss over; to be particular about; to be obsessive about; to be fixated on; to obstruct; to hinder
to be used up; to be run out; to be exhausted; to be consumed; to come to an end
holding a castle (during a siege); holing up; confinement (to one's home); staying at home; staying indoors
to resolve; to ready (oneself); to make up one's mind
cancellation; rescinding; release; calling off; lifting (sanctions); delisting
spiderweb; spider web; spider's web; cobweb
incessant; constant; continuous; perpetual; everlasting
closely; compactly; leaving no space
so far; up to now; hitherto; that's enough (for today); it ends here
just before; on the verge of; on the brink of; just in front of; just ahead of
to draw (a thread); to let out (e.g. a rope); to head out as a group; to set out in large numbers; to send out one after another; to dispatch
fragment; broken piece; chip; ounce (of truth, conscience, etc.); trace; shred
under one's eyes; below one's eyes
sometime; someday; one day; some time or other; the other day; in due course
blind spot (e.g. of a driver); dead angle; dead ground; dead space
to take measures (against); to take steps
a matter of course; what is to be expected; par for the course
to take (someone) by surprise; to do something unexpected
to recognize; to recognise; to deem; to judge; to approve; to deem acceptable; to admit
condition; assumption; intention; intent; premise (in logic)
to imagine; to picture; to figure; to see
to be hard pressed; to be at a loss; to become poor; to be reduced to poverty
perhaps; probably; generous; many; much
many; much; majority (of); greater part (of); mostly; mainly
to search for; to seek for; to look for
rapid succession (e.g. questions)
hailing each other; acting in concert; responding (to); agreement; concord
capture (of enemy territory); taking (by storm); defeating (an opponent); attacking (a problem) strategically
beginning; start; clue; lead; thread end
gaining time; stalling for time; time-buying
to the utmost; to the best of one's ability
in short; the point is; the important thing is; in a word; basically