to flatter; to toady (to); to curry favor (with); to butter up; (lit.) to grind sesame seeds
to compete with; to vie for
husband; master (of a house, shop, etc.)
to cut corners; to be shoddy; to slack off; to play a tenuki; to tenuki
group; body; party; company; troupe; gang
to be wide-ranging; to be diverse; to cover a lot of ground; to cover various topics
performance (as opposed to practice); going before an audience or on-air; game; match; high of the season; height (of summer, etc.)
cutting edge; leading edge; forefront; tip; end
veteran (in a particular field); person with a lot of experience; old hand
survival; survivor; relic
persistence; fortitude; indomitability
rating; ranking; grading; classification
autograph; one's own handwriting; personal note
earth; soil; the earth (historically, esp. as opposed to the heavens); the ground; low-quality torinoko-gami (containing mud); (period of) refraining from construction in the direction of the god of the earth (in Onmyōdō)
match; game; bout; contest
white heat; incandescence; (emitting) white light; becoming excited; getting heated (e.g. of a discussion); reaching a climax
to bite at; to snap at; to nibble; to get one's teeth into (metaphorically); to get to grips with; to really get into
(very) familiar; well-acquainted
cheap article; poor-quality article
roasting; grilling; toasting; tempering (in metallurgy)
ivy (esp. Boston ivy, Parthenocissus tricuspidata)
dye; dyestuff; coloring agent
equal (distribution, treatment, level, etc.); even; uniform
stamping; embossing; tooling (e.g. leather); sigillation
sharp (eyes, ears, etc.); keen; acute; sharp-witted; shrewd; clever
closing in on (the enemy, first place, etc.); coming close to; pressing hard; pressing hard (e.g. with a question); taking to task; grilling
pair; the two; both persons; both things
established practice; custom
tall and thin; long and thin; lanky; spindly; gangly
Franz; Franc; Francis; Frantz
the ostentation (bad taste) of the nouveau riche; air of vulgar prosperity
(formal) announcement; unveiling; introduction; debut
corner; nook; shade; shadow; dark circles (under the eyes); dark rings; bend (in a road, river, etc.)
to float; to become merry; to be cheerful; to become loose; to become unsteady; to feel out of it; to be cut off (e.g. from those around you)
plunking (down something heavy); flumping (into a chair)
empty seat; unoccupied seat; vacancy; vacant post
burden; nuisance; bother; hanger-on; dependent; parasite
thinking nothing of ...; undaunted by ...; in defiance of ...; in spite of ...; in the face of ...; ignoring ...