hard-to-believe; unbelievable; incredible; fabulous
lead nowhere; get one nowhere; no use; fruitless; there's no point (in doing)
expectation; anticipation; hope; promising; rising; up-and-coming
powerlessness; helplessness; incompetence; ineffectiveness
and they all lived happily ever after; having a happy ending; ending without incident
slip; omission; upshot; denouement; punch line (of a joke)
to feel irritated; to feel offended; to feel angry; to feel sick; to feel nauseous
position; situation; viewpoint; standpoint; point of view
ill feeling; ill will; animosity; bad impression
to pay attention; to be watchful
desperation; despair; self-abandonment
to break; to destroy; to wreck; to ruin; to break (a bill, etc.)
friend; ally; supporter; taking sides (with); supporting; standing by
process; course; mechanism
satisfaction; contentment; sufficient; satisfactory; satisfying (an equation)
does not seem; unlikely; improbable
story; tale; narrative; account; fable; legend
last days; the end; one's fate
to follow (a road, path, etc.); to trace; to follow (a clue, scent, tracks, plot, etc.); to trace (a route, history, family tree, etc.); to head towards (of a situation); to go in the direction of
tragedy; tragic drama; tragic play; tragedy; calamity; disaster
great person; eminent figure
scoundrel; rascal; villain
(fictional) character; character; personality; persona
(spoken) line (in a play, film, comic, etc.); one's lines; comment; remark; stock phrase; set phrase
by any chance; (should) it happen (that); by some chance
original (that was parodied or acted as an inspiration for something else, etc.); source
policy; course; plan (of action); magnetic needle
to be decided; to be settled; to be unchanging; to be the same (as always); to be a fixed rule; to be destined; to be well executed (of a manoeuvre in a sport, game, etc.)
to scratch; to perspire; to shovel; to paddle
to get rid of; to erase; to dispel; to eradicate; to wipe away
very; greatly; much; just about to; almost; very nearly
when it comes to ...; where ... is concerned; if it's the case that ...; if it turns out that ...; if it's true that ...
interval; period of time; among; between; good opportunity; chance
to prepare oneself (for the worst); to resolve oneself
just barely; only just; at the very limit; at the last moment
to lose focus; to let one's mind wander; to relax one's attention
unsafe; insecure; careless; dangerous; incautious; imprudent