festival; feast; carnival; matsuri
salt; common salt; hardship; toil; saltiness; cold
a handful (of); small amount (of); small number (of); trouncing; crushing
(not) well; (not) properly; (not) enough; (not) sufficiently; (not) satisfactorily
talking in one's sleep; somniloquy; nonsense; gibberish
opponent; adversary; the competition; the other side; one's enemy
all eyes; public attention
to grant; to give; to confer; to teach; to instruct; to impart (knowledge)
multiplying by one; original amount; (even) more; double; twice (as much)
(rubbing) salt in the wound
to paint over heavily; to plaster up
strong reaction (against); (transplant) rejection
prescribed; designated; appointed; fixed
recovery; return to form; regaining one's (usual) form; demodulation
strong sake; firewater; rotgut
main point; gist; essentials; bones (e.g. of an idea); pith
damage taken; damage received; incoming damage
to create; to bring forth; to invent; to think up and bring into being; to give birth to; to bear
having a poor endgame; failing at the final stage; missing at the last turn; slacking off at the end
the (one's) best pupil; the (one's) top disciple
something like ...; something called ...
sense of language; feeling of a word; impression a word makes; nuance
unattractive; ugly; unstylish; uncool
to loosen; to slacken; to relax (attention, efforts, etc.); to let down (one's guard); to relax (a rule); to ease (e.g. restrictions)
entirely; completely; cleanly; snugly
repeated blows; striking repeatedly; barrage; consecutive hits (e.g. in boxing, baseball)
passage; path; route; one's way
as many as one likes; as much as one likes; great many; plenty; almost (none); (not) much
vanguard; advance-guard point; advance detachment; vanguard; pioneer; avant-garde
pity; sorrow; pitiable; pitiful; alack; alas
studying under; looking up to; apprenticing oneself to
root; source; origin; foundation; basis; essence
to poke fun at; to make fun of; to send up
fate; destiny; connection; tie; pretext; justification
deep (of emotions, connections, etc.)
to have an idea; to have a clue
slip; omission; upshot; denouement; punch line (of a joke)
prudent; thoughtful; discreet
to know; to understand; to (understand and) accept (a responsibility); to have a knowledge of (a skill, art, etc.); to have a command of
absolutely; positively; decidedly
calmly; quietly; gently; be quiet!
that road (path, street, way, etc.); that line (of business); that profession; love affairs; romance
magic; sorcery; incantation