plausible; believable; solemn; dignified; serious
to find an excuse; to rationalize; to find a pretext
hesitation; wavering; faltering; balking; recoil; flinching
goddamn idiot; moron; nitwit
to talk to oneself; to mutter
to level (earth); to cut through (a mountain); to split (the opposition); to break (strike)
stand-offish; distant; not frank; watery (alcohol, coffee, etc.)
first-person plural (or singular); second or third person plural (implies speaker is of higher status than those referred to)
with gusto; with wild abandon; enthusiastically; energetically
separation; farewell; parting
smiling; beaming; radiant; bright; cheerful
ready-made goods; off-the-shelf item
special order (goods); custom (made); bespoke
rave reviews; extremely high praise
to weigh on one's mind; to trouble one's heart; to be concerned about; to worry about
dark history; dark past; something one wants to forget or pretend never happened
to start for home; to head for home; to make for home
no matter what; whatever happens; in any situation; rain or shine
disinheritance; disowning
in accordance with; following; roughly; about; Street; Avenue
point; dot; one point; one matter; one point (in a game, exam, etc.); one mark
cannot help (laughing, feeling sympathy, etc.); cannot hold back (tears, anger, etc.); cannot suppress
to see the light; to be awakened to the truth; to have the scales fall from one's eyes
dealing fully (with); going into (issue, etc.); stepping into; alcove
stiffening; rigidity; rigor; stiffness; ossification; petrification
shaking; shake; unsettledness; instability; existence of multiple spellings, pronunciations, usages, etc. for a single word
selfish; egoist; (arch.) self-indulgent; (arch.) wilful; (arch.) willful
ill will; malice; evil intent
(not) necessarily; (not) entirely; (not) altogether
for a short while; for a while; for some time; for the time being
self-restraint; voluntary restraint; self-imposed control; self-discipline
courageous; brave; bold; valiant
weeding; weeder; weeding fork
to be working hard; to be doing one's best
to pluck; to pick; to tear
to say nasty things (about); to use abusive language
hating to lose; unyielding; unbending; competitive; sore loser; determined
to look at from the outside; to view from an outsider's perspective; to be seen from the point of view of an onlooker
continuously; from beginning to end; from first to last
no matter how much time passes; no matter how long you wait; (taking) forever