story; tale; narrative; account; fable; legend
unpleasant; disagreeable; abominable; unlucky; inauspicious; ominous
original; unique; distinctive; independent; one's own; personal
erratic; offbeat; wild; extraordinary
blasphemy; curse; profanity; sacrilege; desecration
unpleasant feelings (e.g. hatred, disgust, revulsion, fear)
to shun; to avoid; to ostracize; to neglect; to distance oneself from; to give the hard shoulder
walking; pace; step; course (of history, one's life, etc.); history; pitch (of a screw, etc.)
nothing but; none other than
to stop (plug) one's ears
to keep company; to look after; to entertain; to play (a game) with
since some time or another; since who-knows-when
(one's) consideration; (taking) notice; interest; within the eye
selfishness; egotism; egoism; (being) self-centered; without consulting; (doing) as one pleases
bad; poor; inferior; delinquent; hoodlum; hooligan
to rub; to chafe; to strike (match); to lose (e.g. a match); to forfeit; to squander one's money (e.g. through gambling, Pachinko, etc.)
reliance; trust; faith; confidence
to dwell; to live; to stay at; to take shelter at; to be pregnant; to be part of a constellation
to compare and contrast two alternatives; to weigh the relative merits of A and B; to weigh one's options; to try to have it both ways; to try to sit on two stools
good; goodness; right; virtue
wicked person; evil person; scoundrel; bad thing; mischief
to resonate emotionally (with one); to strike a chord; to be gut-wrenching
to bear up in tragedy; to stand pain well; to hold one's temper; to clench one's teeth; to grit one's teeth
to throw something to each other; to pass something back and forth; to bandy something around; to take part in a pitching duel
barren; sterile; infertile; unproductive (e.g. discussion); fruitless
laid-back; carefree; easygoing; thoughtless; happy-go-lucky
to go by; to cross; to pass by; to flash across
to death (bored, scared, etc.); to distraction; like crazy; like mad; so much; dying (e.g. for a drink)
all members; all hands; everyone; everybody; whole crew
laying the groundwork; behind-the-scenes maneuvering; consensus-building process; digging around the roots of a tree (before transplanting)
so much; so often; oh, yes!; that's it; that's right; quite
absurd; foolish; stupid; silly; nonsense; ludicrous
real intention; true motive; true meaning
bet; wager; stake; gamble
foolish; idiotic; stupid; ridiculous; absurd
feeling of tension; air of tension; tension; nervousness
crowd of people; great number of people; in great numbers
trio; gang of three; threesome
meeting face-to-face; seeing in person; facing (each other); opposing (traffic, etc.); confronting