first meeting; first interview with
strange; unfamiliar; mysterious; suspicious; (lit.) of an unknown nature
reward; compensation; collateral; security; turning to look behind
profit-and-loss arithmetic; calculating profit and loss; mercenary point of view
to cross over; to cross; to pass through; to exceed; to surpass; to be more (than)
on the occasion of; circumstances; juncture
to entrust (someone) with; to leave (a matter) with someone; to have someone deliver (a message, parcel, etc.); to send (through someone); to use (something) to express (one's feelings, opinion, etc.); to express in the form of (something)
steward; butler; court official; deacon (Anglican, Lutheran, etc.)
to live up to expectations; to meet expectations
to be helpful; to help; to be of assistance; to come in handy
someone working behind-the-scenes; scene shifter; lady consort (to a high personage)
warm; mild; considerate; kind; warm (of a colour); mellow
as one wishes; the way one wants; to one's satisfaction
to lose heart; to lose motivation
staring-out (down) game; game in which two children looking at each other try to make the opponents laugh first; constant looking at something (e.g. the computer screen, the clock, etc.)
to let go of; to release; to part with (e.g. a possession); to relinquish; to send away (e.g. one's child); to let go
a-ha-ha (laughing loudly)
going against one's will; contrary to one's intentions; going against one's desire; going contrary to one's wishes
answering one's own question; wondering to oneself; soliloquizing; soliloquising
reality; actuality; hard fact
this way (of doing); this method; this sort (of thing); this type
to wear away; to rub down; to abrade
carelessness; inattention; thoughtlessness
to kill; to slay; to suppress; to block; to suppress (a voice, feelings, etc.); to hold back
to cause trouble (for someone); to annoy; to bother; to inconvenience
alone; by oneself; on one's own
useless resistance; vain struggle
remaining bony parts (of a fish after filleting); flaw (esp. of a person); fault; rice chaff; rough; crude
to begin to write; to begin writing; to begin to draw; to begin drawing; to begin painting
brittle; fragile; weak; tender-hearted; sentimental; easily moved
fleeting; transient; short-lived; empty (dream, etc.); mere (hope); faint (possibility)
to tie; to fasten; to hitch; to secure (trust, patronage of customers, etc.); to keep (an employee, someone's interest, etc.); to save (someone's life)
to paw (at) the ground; to struggle (using one's arms and legs); to flounder; to struggle (to escape an adverse situation); to strive
distaste; unsavoriness; unsavouriness
television; TV; TV program; TV programme; TV broadcast
breaking off; snapping off