to have a lot of influence (in); to have clout (with); to be influential; to have contacts (in)
door (Western-style, car, etc.)
of great promise; with a promising future
understood; I see; OK; present; here
enjoyment; pleasure; diversion; anticipation; looking forward to
Not a word to anyone; Mum's the word
recently; lately; these days; nearest; closest
degree of difficulty; difficulty level
naming; nominating; designating; calling on; asking for; requesting
highway (esp. one existing from the Edo period); main road; highway (e.g. to success); path (to becoming ...); subdistrict (in China)
periodic; regular; routine
you (plural); all of you; you all
partition; division; separation; segmenting; splitting
circuitous; roundabout; indirect
to get down to business; to cut to the chase; to get straight to the point; to move on to the main subject
spiced sake (served at New Year's)
to demarcate; to delimit; to divide (an area); to punctuate; to put an end to (e.g. a sentence); to insert pauses or breaks (e.g. when reading aloud)
to sprawl; to lie sprawled; to stretch oneself out; to lie relaxed on one's side
first-person plural (or singular); second or third person plural (implies speaker is of higher status than those referred to)
unofficial offer (esp. job offer); tentative decision
to stand watch; to stand guard; to look out; to open (one's eyes) wide
evasion; excuse; subterfuge; runaround
to poke (repeatedly, lightly); to nudge; to peck at (one's food); to pick at; to peck at (someone's faults, etc.); to egg on
document; official papers
to be sufficient; to be enough; to be worth doing; to be worthy of; to do (the job); to serve
influential person; man of importance
look; glance; sight; summary; list; table
a lot more; much more; and then some; and plenty more than that
bodyguard; bouncer; bar (e.g. on a door); bolt; stick or pole used for self-defence
easy; simple; easygoing; lighthearted; simplistic
pessimism; disappointment
novice; beginner; starting to run; running off; running away