to a surprising degree; to a remarkable extent; surprisingly; astonishingly; amazingly; alarmingly
late summer heat; lingering summer heat
earth; ground; place; territory; bottom (of a package, book, etc.); earth (one of the five elements)
dealing with (people, customers, complaints, etc.); receiving (callers, visitors, etc.); attending to; handling; serving
to take seriously; to take someone at their word; to believe (to be true)
half and half; fifty-fifty
horse; horse racing; promoted bishop
ta-dah!; ta-da!; tada!; voilà
large snake; heavy drinking; heavy drinker
hurdle; hurdle race; hurdles; hurdle; obstacle
isn't it (that) different (from usual, from what one could expect, etc.)?; isn't that wrong?; no, that's wrong; it's not like that; that's not the case
love at first sight; being taken with someone at the first meeting
sly; cunning; sneaky; crafty; unfair; dishonest
extramarital sex; affair; fooling around; infidelity; wantonness; unfaithfulness
to tattle; to tell on; to inform a superior of someone's actions
treachery; betrayal; perfidy
sharp parting remark; parting threat
what; so-and-so; such and such; what?; wait; well, well
front-facing; forward-looking; positive; constructive
consideration; examination; investigation; study; scrutiny; discussion
turning another away at the gate or front door; refusing to receive a caller
means of making contact; intermediary; go-between; connections; influence; pull
throughout; over a period of ...; over a span of ...
to rot; to go bad; to corrode; to weather; to become useless; to blunt; to become depraved
these days; nowadays; present day; at this time (of the day)
in swarms; in great crowds
to make (the best) use of; to put to good use; to let live; to keep alive; to revive; to resuscitate
loser; failure; underdog; unmarried and childless older woman
back-facing; backwards; backward-looking; retrogressive; reactionary
to subsist; to keep on living
meeting; rendezvous; encounter; confluence
natural; understandable; reasonable; no wonder