influential person; man of importance
satisfaction; pride; one's strong point; one's forte; regular customer; regular client
polite; courteous; civil; careful; close; thorough
beautiful woman; (a) beauty
disastrous; tragic; miserable; wretched; pitiful; woeful
state; condition; the way things should be; ideal state; truth
something like ...; something called ...
limit; limits; degree; extent; the end; the last; as long as ...
fluently (speaking a foreign language); incessantly (speaking); glibly; one after the other (flipping through pages); thin (paper, cloth, etc.); flimsy
to line up; to set up; to enumerate; to itemize; to be equal (to); to compare well (with)
talkativeness; garrulity; loquacity
unexpectedly; surprisingly; unexpected; unanticipated; unforeseen
prior; beforehand; in advance; before the fact; ex ante
common knowledge; being well-known; making (something) well-known
place; spot; field; discipline; occasion; situation; scene (of a play, movie, etc.)
(not) in any way; in no way; at all; terribly; awfully; hopelessly
fine day; clear day; formal occasion
form; shape; figure; visage
to lament; to grieve; to regret; to deplore
something small; something petty; trifle
shape; form; appearance; state; situation; suitable
to gather; to collect; to assemble
somehow or other; for some reason or another; without knowing why
tone of voice; mimicry; imitative voice
to come near; to let someone approach; to bring near; to bring together; to deliver (opinion, news, etc.); to send (e.g. a letter); to let someone drop by
thin veneer; hasty preparation; knowledge or skill learned as a stopgap; re-tempering a dull sword (so that it looks as if it's sharp, but is actually unusable)
unreasonable request; asking for something unreasonable
brief remark; few words; one side (e.g. of an argument); ex-parte statement
to be pretentious; to put on airs; to show off
to be careful; to pay attention; to take care
originally; primarily; essentially; intrinsically; proper; rightful
to be conspicuous; to stand out
wrong; not good; hopeless; past hope; must not do
pinch; crisis; tough spot; clothespin
why; oh; no!; quit it!; stop!
very; considerably; by no means; not readily; middle; half-way point
language learning ability; foreign language skills; linguistic ability
before one's eyes; in front of one; under one's nose; immediate; imminent; around the corner
eldest daughter; first-born daughter
to approach; to draw near; to get close; to get acquainted with; to get closer to; to get to know