preface; introduction; preamble
affirmation; affirmative (logic)
shellfish; seashell; shell
to keep one's mouth shut; to refuse to talk
to probe; to search; to sound out; to investigate
way (of doing); manner; method; means
failure; mistake; blunder
to become; to appear like; to have a touch of; to look like
to be handed down; to be introduced; to be transmitted; to be circulated; to go along; to walk along
to bend oneself forward (esp. in curiosity or excitement); to hang out (e.g. over a balcony)
privacy; secrecy; confidentiality
to measure; to weigh; to survey; to conjecture; to infer; to surmise
to permit; to allow; to forgive; to pardon; to exempt (someone) from; to remit; to acknowledge
something; some kind of; for some reason
serious; important; significant; grave; weighty
(not so) much; (not) very
information; news; intelligence; information; data contained in characters, signals, code, etc.
family; relatives; dependents; household
to avert one's eyes; to avoid looking straight at something; to cover one's eyes
to think of; to hit upon; to come into one's mind; to remember; to recall
clear; obvious; evident; bright; light
careless; stupid; thoughtless; heedless; unobservant; inadvertent
let me see; well; errr ...; uhh ...
natural; reasonable; obvious; usual; common; ordinary
human realm; world of humans; terrestrial world
classified information; top secret
there is no way that ...; easy; simple
place; spot; field; discipline; occasion; situation; scene (of a play, movie, etc.)
what; what sort of thing; everything; anything; what (on earth)?; what's the meaning of this ...?
to cut one's way through; to tide over; to struggle through; to get over
(suffer) deterioration; growing worse; aggravation; degeneration; corruption
happiness; good fortune; luck; blessing
he; she; that person; (arch.) you
sudden; abrupt; rapid; sharp; drastic; radical
absurd; foolish; stupid; silly; nonsense; ludicrous
suitable; proper; appropriate; perfunctory; half-minded; sloppy
to feign ignorance; to pretend to be ignorant of; to play innocent; to brazen it out
closing hours (of a store, restaurant, etc.)
indefinite; hazy; vague; unsettled; undecided
to speak; to hear a voice
suddenly and forcefully (e.g. jerk, poke, shove); in a single gulp; in one go
with intense concentration; eagerly; intently; devouringly
to bring near; to bring close; to let go near; to associate with; to bring (people) together; to let come near (of a person)
state of mind; mental state; mental attitude
incomprehensible; nonsensical; puzzling; I don't get it; I'm confused; I'm lost
approximate age; apparent age; marriageable age (esp. of a woman); age of maturity; appropriate age (to ...); old enough (to ...)