straight ball (pitch); direct (e.g. question); blunt
to play dumb; to feign ignorance; to play the fool; to be in one's dotage
to lay bare; to expose; to reveal
surface; face (i.e. the visible side of an object); front (of a building, etc.); obverse side (i.e. "head") of a coin; outside; exterior; appearance
aid; assistance; help; cheering; rooting (for); support
again; once more; a second time
to compare and contrast two alternatives; to weigh the relative merits of A and B; to weigh one's options; to try to have it both ways; to try to sit on two stools
the person concerned; the person in question; the said person
fellow; mutual; companion; comrade
mutually; with each other; reciprocally; together
fast (walking); quick; brisk; quick (passing of time); rapid; swift
to leave; to go away; to pass; to elapse; to be distant; to send away; to drive off
from the beginning; from the first; all along; of course
to be shut; to close; to be firm (of a body, face, etc.); to be well-knit; to be locked; to tighten
beyond this point; from now on; after this
calamity; misfortune; disaster
to roll up; to enfold; to swallow up; to involve; to drag into
several people; a few people
to summon; to call (e.g. phone); to convene; to invoke (e.g. subroutine); to call; to open (e.g. a file)
each and all; every single one; everybody
to warp; to bend; to contort; to be perverted; to be warped (of a view, mind, etc.); to be distorted
beautiful woman; (a) beauty
rank; place (e.g. first place); decimal place; counter for ghosts
and yet; though; when; in spite of
to harvest; to reap; to take in; to gather in; to adopt (e.g. idea); to accept (e.g. advice)
to curry favour (with); to play up (to); to cozy up (to); to butter up
without hesitation; with great optimism; (pushing or pulling) strongly; (drinking) heavily
flinchingly; falteringly; being overwhelmed; staggeringly; totteringly; unsteadily
to criticize harshly; to blame; to accuse; to urge; to press
fixed; settled; constant; definite; uniform; regularized
when it becomes; when it comes to
to raise; to lift; to boost; to enhance
process; course; mechanism
last; final; closing; last train (bus, flight, etc.; of the day)
poor (living); barely continuing; just scraping along; very narrow
detection (of a plot, fraud, etc.); discovery; coming to light; being uncovered
offender; criminal; culprit
to search for; to look for; to hunt for; to search (a house, pocket, etc.); to search through; to rummage in (e.g. a drawer)
retaliation; revenge; reprisal; retorsion; retortion
to meet the requirements; to satisfy the conditions