big problem; major issue; big controversy
proposal; offer; request; application
to earn (income); to make (money); to score (points, victory); to gain (time); to work hard (at one's job); to labor
to take (by force); to take away; to snatch; to absorb (one's attention); to fascinate; to captivate
social standing of a family; lineage; parentage; good family
delineation; demarcation; drawing a line (e.g. between what's acceptable and unacceptable); (measuring) ruler
a few years ago; some years back
head (of a household); proprietor (of a store); one's husband; (one's) employer; (one's) master; host
likability; favorability; popularity
to apply (of a rule); to be applicable (of standards, lessons, ideas, etc.); to hold true (e.g. of a description); to fit; to be suitable (e.g. of a word); to meet (requirements)
relation; connection; relevance
careful; cautious; prudent; discreet; deliberate
to choose one's words (with care); to be careful with one's words
judging from appearances; to all appearances; from the looks of it; on the face of it; apparently; seemingly
to be caught; to be captured; to be taken prisoner; to be seized with (fear, etc.); to be a slave to; to stick to
to punish; to penalize; to penalise
so much (something) as to (e.g. so moved as to cry); overwhelmed; carried away; because of too much
to be conspicuous; to stand out
technology; engineering; technique; skill; art; craft
to sum up; to summarize; to summarise
to relax one's mind; to feel relaxed; to become remiss; to cease paying careful attention
desperately; for one's dear life
to be silent; to say nothing
I'm sorry; my apologies; excuse me; pardon me
to say; to speak; to tell; to be called
situation; (present) state of affairs; circumstances
hypothesis; supposition; assumption; expectation; anticipation
stage; step; level; rank; order; stairs
within; inside of; less than
such; this sort of; like this
to subsist; to keep on living
preparatory phase; preparatory period
since some time ago; for some time; for quite a while
to chase; to run after; to pursue; subsequently; following that; (and) then
one turn; spinning around; complete change; reversal; (an) about-face
maximum preference; maximum priority; priority handling
a little; a bit; a small amount; a little while; a short time; a moment
hard-to-do; difficult; tough; awkward; tricky
bottom of one's heart; depths of one's mind; innermost thoughts; from the bottom of one's heart; wholeheartedly; truly