national defence; national defense
to put one's life on the line; to risk one's life; to put everything one has into it
to make war (on); to wage war (against); to compete (against); to struggle (against adversities, etc.); to fight
to look away; to avert one's eyes
creaking; squeaking; packing in tightly; cramming; hard (pressing, tying, twisting, etc.); tightly
firmly; solidly; sturdily; strongly; toughly
flapping (of a flag, fan, etc.); fluttering; pitter-patter (of footsteps); quickly (making progress); in quick succession
to be crushed; to be smashed; to become useless; to cease functioning; to go bankrupt; to go out of business
to get strong; to gain strength
release; unleashing; liberation; deallocation (of computer memory)
to become loose; to slacken; to soften
stability; steadiness; equilibrium
calmly; quietly; gently; be quiet!
whispering; murmuring; subdued
misunderstanding; mistaken idea; wrong guess
to coquet (of a woman); to entice a customer (of a prostitute); to flatter; to butter up
gradually; by degrees; little by little; steps; stairs; staircase
oneself (itself, etc.); I; me; you; by oneself (itself, etc.); interjection expressing anger or chagrin
to be at wits' end; to be greatly perplexed; to be troubled
heaven and earth; top and bottom
opening; gap; dried and opened fish
planning; scheming; maneuvering; manoeuvring
to spill over and fall; to scatter (petals, leaves, etc.)
to be at a loss for words
single; solo; solitary; just one; only one
easy; trifling; harmless; nothing of the sort; not at all
overserious; deeply sincere; very earnest
pretext; history; past; according to ...; ... says
complaint; troubles; objection; grievance
displeasure; discomfort; unpleasantness; indisposition; ailment
management; dealing with; course of events; circumstances; end result (usu. bad); outcome
splash; spray; chance blow; by-blow; getting dragged into (a quarrel, etc.)
idly; lazily; aimlessly; evasively; elusively; vaguely
to grumble; to gripe; to complain
quite capable of ...; could happen; not unlikely to
you must be kidding; hey, come on!; surely not!
beautiful woman; (a) beauty
favour; favor; favourite; favorite; patron; supporter
to starve; to be famished; to be hungry; to be starved of (e.g. love); to be thirsty for (e.g. knowledge); to be hungry for
to distance oneself (from); to keep (something or someone) at a distance; to maintain a distance (from)