living; lifestyle; living room
make-up; makeup; cosmetics
Western-style clothes (cf. traditional Japanese clothes)
for a short while; for a while; for some time; for the time being
I'm told; is what I heard; is how it is, apparently; is what they said
creaking; squeaking; packing in tightly; cramming; hard (pressing, tying, twisting, etc.); tightly
exactly; surely; right then; just then; just (about to); on the verge (of doing or happening)
to realize; to realise; to hit upon something
(what) one is trying to say; (what) one wants to say; (what) one is saying; (what) one means
likes and dislikes; pickiness (about food); choosiness; fussiness; tastes; preferences
Saitama (city, prefecture)
precondition; prerequisite
to enquire of someone about something (inquire); to question; to interrogate; to grill (someone about a matter); to question in detail
noisy; loud; annoying; troublesome; fussy; finicky
automatic lock; automatic door-locking system
to shut out; to bar; to lock out; to exclude
prevention of crime; security (device, camera, etc.)
city centre (center) (esp. capital city); urban centre; heart of city a metropolis
detached house; stand-alone house; single-family home
loan; roan; lawn (i.e. short grass); lawn (type of cotton cloth)
to cross (legs or arms); to link (arms); to put together; to construct; to braid; to plait; to grapple
every month; monthly; month by month
income; receipts; revenue
lumping together; summing up; bundle; lump; batch
achievement; performance; results; work; contribution
one-hit wonder; flash in the pan; all-or-nothing gambler; one-shot speculator; slugger; home-run batter
surprise victory; upset; coup
to be profitable; to yield a profit
hating to lose; unyielding; unbending; competitive; sore loser; determined
to remain; to stay (somewhere)
as ... as one can; as ... as possible; as much as possible
to have a go; to try and do (something); to take a chance with something
to build a market for; to promote (a product); to promote oneself; to sell oneself; to sell heavily
hungry (e.g. for success)
to anticipate; to foresee