mastery; skillfulness; dexterity; master hand; expert
brat; kid; urchin; preta; hungry ghost
lumping together; summing up; bundle; lump; batch
payment in advance; advance payment; payment on delivery (e.g. business-reply mail, collect phone calls); forerunner
advance payment; money paid in advance
fee contingent upon success; contingency fee; completion bonus
to drive a bargain; to beat down the price; to haggle
to hurry (up); to urge on; to press; to rush
long ago; a long time ago; already
assassin; candidate fielded by a political party to oust an incumbent of the same party
pair; couple; antithesis; counter for items that come in pairs; counter for sets (of clothes, small furniture, utensils, etc.)
to insist; to assert; to be obstinate in saying
doing whatever one pleases; selfishness; self-indulgence
to say to each other; to exchange (jokes, comments, etc.); to quarrel; to dispute
thirst for blood; bloodlust; determination to kill
and; or; and the like; and so forth; and what not
and yet; despite this; but even so; but even then; however; nevertheless
to spur on; to urge forward; to impel; to drive at high speed (e.g. a car)
office (e.g. the Oval Office)
seal of blood; sealing with one's blood
to swear; to vow; to take an oath; to pledge
justice; right; righteousness; correct meaning; correct explanation
iron hammer; crushing blow
cheap and low-quality play; performance not worth paying to see; transparent act; see-through scheming
drawer; withdrawal (of money from an account); variety of knowledge and experience useful for handling things impromptu
to put away; to stow away; to tuck away; to hoard
to lock (a door, etc.); to lock up
sneak thief; petty thief; cat burglar
period; epoch; the times; those days; oldness; ancientness
to bend; to crook; to lean; to tilt; to bend (the truth); to distort
insertion; interposition; interpolation; infix
to rummage through; to ransack (e.g. a drawer); to throw into confusion; to disrupt; to upset
to make sure; to check; to ascertain; to confirm; to verify
polite; courteous; careful; close; overly courteous; overly careful
to explain away; to talk one's way out of; to excuse oneself; to evade
how; in what way; why; for what reason; cannot possibly; no way