victory or defeat; match; contest; game
contriving (to raise funds, to find time, etc.); working out (a solution)
to live up to (one's) expectations; to meet expectations
resolution; vote; decision
putting off (doing); postponement; delaying
to hold down; to twist someone's arm; to force (someone) to yield (e.g. an argument); to make (someone) surrender
to compete; to contend; to vie; to contest
to strain; to stretch; to string up; to cover over (e.g. with tiles, ice, etc.)
surrounding at a distance
falling lightly (e.g. snow, petals, confetti); fluttering; flickering; twinkling; appearing and disappearing; catching glimpses
to stop by; to drop in for a short visit
to throw down; to throw out; to abandon; to resign; to give freely; to give generously
racing (of an engine); spinning one's wheels; running idle; fruitless effort; going nowhere; going round in circles
to be about to enter (a bath, etc.)
to shut one's eyes; to ignore; to pretend not to know; to die
distant look; faraway look
virtuous mind; good intentions; good will; positive mindset; bona fides; good faith
to establish an emotional bond with; to reach out to; to relate to
the more I think about it; the more one thinks about it
slowly; tardily; complaining; grumbling; unsettled (e.g. weather); loose
to mend; to patch up; to fix (hair, clothes, appearance, etc.); to adjust; to keep up appearances; to cover up (e.g. a mistake)
very thin; flimsy; cheap; shallow
to tear off; to peel off; to rip off; to strip off; to skin; to flay
to correct; to rectify; to reform; to straighten (one's posture, collar, etc.); to adjust
embarrassed; self-conscious; bashful; abashed
to have an ulterior motive; to have an axe to grind
waking up; awakening; arousal; disillusion; disillusionment; awakening
disappearance; vanishing; loss; dying away; wearing off
dramatic pose; grand gesture; grandstanding
to devour greedily; to wolf down; to gobble up
weightlessness; zero gravity
diminutive; dwarfish; pygmy; narrow (e.g. thinking); small
to knead again; to rework; to revise; to polish
cost reduction; cost saving
to plan; to attempt; to plot; to conspire; to aim for; to strive for
delay; putting off; procrastination
to announce; to tell; to sentence; to order
to take a breath; to take a short rest