light blue; pale blue; aqua
degree of familiarity; popularity
irony; sarcasm; unexpected; different from what one expected; (only) surface; something superficial
untalkative; quiet; taciturn; reticent; uncommunicative
dialogue; discussion; conversation; interaction
tumor; tumour; swelling; boil; abscess
to feel sorry (for, that); to regret (that); to feel pity; to sympathize
shift the responsibility (for something) on to (someone); pass the buck
to wish to go well; to have good intentions
nickname; alias; pseudonym; pen name; nom de plume; other name
ill will; malice; evil intent
misconstruction; distortion; misinterpretation; misunderstanding; perversion; contortion
to spread rumors; to spread rumours
in the face of; in defiance of
to spread; to propagate; to popularize; to broaden; to extend; to widen
unheard-of; unprecedented; unparalleled in history (unparallelled); record-breaking
to hold (in one's hand); to take (into one's hand); to own; to obtain
after that (a substantive change occurred)
to shun; to avoid; to ostracize; to neglect; to distance oneself from; to give the hard shoulder
purchase; buying; buying used articles as a company; trade-in; purchase on a no-return policy; lump-sum payment
increasingly; more and more; decreasingly (when declining); less and less
planned; scheduled; systematic
to pull apart; to separate; to have a lead over; to pull ahead of; to outdistance
to trap (into a difficult situation); to put (in a fix); to capture (a castle, fortress, etc.); to take; to drop (something) into
to scoff; to laugh at; to make fun of; to ridicule; to jeer at
to torment; to torture; to harass
sense of being victimized; aggrieved feelings; victim mentality; victim's mind
hard to believe; fabulous; unbelievable; incredible
to pile up and up; to pile up more and more; to mount (e.g. debts, concerns)
life-size; life-sized; true-to-life; faithful (depiction); realistic
cold-hearted; callous; unfeeling; insentient (objects); insensate; inanimate
hero; heroine; Eroica Symphony (Beethoven, 1804); Heroic Polonaise (Chopin)
difficulty; trouble; accident; disaster; fault; defect
boy; son; baby boy; young man
couscous; cuscus (variety of phalanger)
English holly (Ilex aquifolium)
to rest one's chin in one's hands
to vacate; to surrender (e.g. a castle); to give up (e.g. a position); to hand over (e.g. power)
one day; (on) a certain day