instability; insecurity; crankiness
to come to a dead end; to come to a standstill; to reach a deadlock; to reach an impasse; to reach a stalemate
center; centre; middle; Chūbu region (incl. Aichi, Nagano, Shizuoka, Niigata, Toyama, Ishikawa, Fukui, Yamanashi and Gifu prefectures)
aid; assistance; help; cheering; rooting (for); support
to gain an advantage; to enjoy an advantage; to turn the tables (on)
number of persons; personnel
to be overturned; to be reversed; to turn over; to fall down; to tumble down; to topple over
to put a burden on; to tax (e.g. strength)
foothold; footing; toehold; stepping stone
maintaining the status quo
to call (someone) back; to recall; to call home; to bring back (memories, etc.); to recall; to revive
visit for no reason; go on fool's errand
young girl; lass; adolescent female
stake all (on something); play for all or nothing; throwing all into a task
far away; far off; nowhere near; far cry
maximum; to the maximum degree; to the full
to mistake someone for someone else; to misread; to misjudge
keep ...-ing; have been ...-ing; leaving (something) on; leaving (something) still in use
to force (someone) to take part; to take along unwillingly
being reluctant to give out (pay, provide, etc.); giving out grudgingly
to build up one's strength; to get stronger; to give (someone) strength; to cheer (someone) up; to encourage (someone)
dying in vain; useless death; meaningless death
to raise an objection; to voice an opinion different from those of others
glaring at each other; confrontation; standoff; face-off
to break; to be broken; to be folded; to give in; to back down; to turn (a corner)
war potential; military strength; fighting power; ability (to compete); capabilities; valuable asset
successively; one after another; sequentially; one by one
defeat; loss; reverse; setback
killing a would-be avenger; having the tables turned on someone (e.g. by a challenger); being beaten at one's own game
idea; conception; way of thinking; approach; expression
to miss (e.g. a chance); to lose; to set free; to let go; to fail to ...
to look out on; to overlook; to face (a situation, crisis, etc.); to meet (e.g. death); to deal with (an issue); to attend (e.g. a function)
last spurt; final spurt; home stretch
(any) particular; special; particularly noteworthy; worth mentioning
before one's very eyes; under one's nose; imminence; close at hand
pain; ache; soreness; damage; injury; wear
friend; ally; supporter; taking sides with; supporting; standing by
bombing (shelling) the wrong target; (be killed by) friendly fire
to change completely; to switch (to); to shift (to another mode)
to be absent; to take a day off; to rest; to have a break; to go to bed; to (lie down to) sleep
witnessing; observing; sighting
to assault with a sword; to stab at; to slash at
control; check; restraint; inhibition