sickle; leading question; trick question; sickle-and-chain (weapon); spear with curved cross-blades; gooseneck tenon and mortise joint; (arch.) noisiness
to insure (something); to come up with a back-up plan; to hedge one's bets; to play it safe
every evening; night after night
dead body; corpse; cadaver; carcass
totally willing; fully motivated
light; easy; non-serious; minor
to force someone to clamp with their teeth; to force into someone's mouth (e.g. a gag); to wedge into a space; to inflict (a blow); to deal (a hit); to pull (a joke)
black; black (coffee); without cream or milk; exploitative (esp. of employees); overly harsh; boldface
echo; reverberation; sound (esp. the distinctive sound of an object or activity, e.g. rain, gun, gallop, drum); noise; quality of a sound (e.g. a fine phrase, clear voice, resonant bell); feeling of a sound
to set (sun); to become dark
(waiting) impatiently; (spending) many a weary day; each moment seeming like an eternity
autograph; signature; sign; signal; indication
according to; reads; reading; is written; says; states
to pose as; to (successfully) impersonate; to pretend to be; to (completely) become; to (fully) turn into
mysterious thief; phantom thief
postal delivery; mail delivery; postman; mailman
searching for the culprit; trying to find out who did something
what the hell; oh, great!; son of a gun; holy mackerel; oh no!; holy cow!
offender; criminal; culprit
twice; again; second time
remittance; sending money
to gnaw; to nibble; to bite; to dabble in; to have a smattering of
temple bell rung 108 times on New Year's Eve
hopeless; futile; no use; beyond help; cannot be done
minimum; at the very least
(in) dire straits; (in a) serious bind; (in a) big pinch
a tiny bit; just a smidgin; a wee bit; very slightly
humming a tune; humming unconcernedly
near-miss; just missing (each other)
to flicker; to glimmer; to flit; to fall lightly (snow, rain)
slowly (but steadily); gradually; bit-by-bit; slowly soaking in; slowly permeating; oozing out
stomach and intestines; gastrointestinal tract; digestive organs
lower floor; downstairs; bottom of the stairs; foot of the stairs
kitchen; galley; (Internet) troll
reduction; decrease; subtraction; (arch.) reduction of penalty (under the ritsuryo codes)
a short while ago; a moment ago; just now; some time ago
not necessarily so; is not always true
genuine; authentic; true; real