ruff; ruffled collar; ruffed collar
bamboo wall-top spikes (or wood, iron); spikes placed at the top of a wall to repel thieves
military aggression; military invasion
common; in the usual course
ultraconservatism; archconservatism
to fall out and be replaced; to shed; to moult (molt)
mousetrap; rattrap; rat poison; speed trap
loot; booty; plunder; spoils
to make (a promise); to conclude (a contract); to act as a go-between; to act as mediator; to curry favour with
to be superior; to surpass
calisthenics; callisthenics
to be flurried; to be confused; to lose one's head
to bilk; to eat up one's fortune
highest honours; highest distinction; summa cum laude
to have a perverse character; to have a twisted personality
change of colour; changing colours; differently coloured (but otherwise similar); different; unusual
countryman; provincial; person from the country; provincial person; bumpkin; hick
owning nothing except the clothes on one's back
striker (triangular piece of steel used with flint to create sparks)
garland; festoon (of flowers)
to live on air; to live on nothing; to live without a means of income
to incur the wrath of god (e.g. by speaking ill of somebody behind their back); to get into trouble; to warp one's mouth
cause of offense; cause of offence; annoyance; spasms; convulsions; cramps
not serious; frivolous; insincere; unsteady
to carry over; to carry forward; to keep (for later); to defer
to bend one's head slightly to one side; to look slightly doubtful