face; official stance; public position or attitude (as opposed to private thoughts); ceremony for the erection of the framework of a house
selfish; egoistic; self-serving; self-interested
intentionally; on purpose; deliberately; taking something into account
few decades; many decades; several decades
to become blunt; to grow dull; to become less capable; to weaken; to falter
frequently; repeatedly; eagerly; keenly; hard; terribly
underground spring; Hades; hell; underworld
great-grandfather; great-granddad; great-grandad
to build; to construct; to erect; to amass (e.g. fortune); to pile up
intelligence; genius; scholarship; virtue
affection (esp. parental); love; fondness
just a handful; only a small number (of)
married couple; husband and wife; man and wife; his and hers; pair of objects, one larger (for man), one smaller (for woman)
to call; to invite; to eat; to drink; to put on; to wear; to ride
good-natured person; good person; (one's) lover; boyfriend; girlfriend
unmarried woman; Miss; -ess; -ette
to loosen; to slacken; to relax (attention, efforts, etc.); to let down (one's guard); to relax (a rule); to ease (e.g. restrictions)
affection; love; fondness; tenderness
appearing and disappearing; slipping in and out of view
punctuation; pause; juncture; end; (place to) stop
to play dumb; to feign ignorance; to play the fool; to be in one's dotage
to extend; to stretch out; to attend; to participate in; to enrol; to enroll
dark side (of nature, town, etc.)
association (of ideas); being reminded (of something); suggestion
darkness; the dark; bewilderment; despair; hidden place; secrecy
to be born and raised (in); to be born and brought up; to be born and bred
(not) always; (not) necessarily; (not) entirely; (not) all
whitewashing; glossing over; lip service; deftly finishing up; putting on the final touches
to manage a state; to govern a country
cruelty; coldheartedness; relentless; ruthless
evasion; avoidance; shirking; recusation (of a judge); taking exception (to a judge); challenge
period; epoch; the times; those days; oldness; ancientness
obstacle; hindrance; impediment; difficulty
pure; genuine; trueborn; natural-born
system; institution; organization; organisation
for example; for instance; e.g.
last (i.e. immediately preceding); previous; pre- (e.g. premodern); before; before; earlier
the same; the said; likewise
humorous; funny; amusing; laughable; hilarious; comical
nonchalant; unconcerned; in a casual manner