unhappiness; sorrow; misfortune; death (usu. of a relative); bereavement
current year (fiscal, academic, etc.)
to prosper; to flourish; to thrive
to spur (on); to expedite; to encourage
deterioration; becoming decrepit; becoming worn out
not insignificant; not to be sneezed at
faultless; flawless; perfect; impeccable; unimpeachable; beyond reproach
interruption; discontinuance; suspension; cancellation (of a planned event); calling off
(very) familiar; well-acquainted
pillar; post; support; prop; counter for buddhas, gods, nobles, etc.
to shave off; to scrape off
to carve; to engrave; to sculpt; to tattoo
mediation; good offices; go-between; building a bridge
wooden building; wooden architecture
museum; reference library; archive; record office
if anything; if pushed I'd say; if I had to say
(written) invitation; letter of invitation
sending; forwarding; shipping
manipulation of public opinion
over-optimistic calculation; counting one's chickens before they're hatched
spotlight; close observation
crowd of people; great number of people; in great numbers
simple honesty; tactless frankness
according to plan; as planned
to be noisy; to be astir; to be abuzz; to be in commotion; to be aflutter; to be unsettled
illness; condition; -pathy
to praise; to extol; to hail; to laud; to celebrate
after (practically) no time; immediately after; just; having no time to
haste; hurry; urgency; in a hurry; quickly; with haste
tough (world); hard (times); cold; stingy; miserly; mercenary
closing party; closing event of a school, etc. festival
call; summons; convening; convocation
target (e.g. of a marketing campaign); subject (of a survey, investigation, etc.); intended audience; eligible person; person entitled (to); recipient
head-on; to one's face; squarely; directly; flatly (e.g. refuse)
opposition; rebellion; rebounding; recoiling; rally (e.g. in stock prices); recovery
society; the world; the times