agreement; rules; code; protocol; convention; bylaw
serious; important; significant; grave; weighty
serious; not joking; straight
long (distance, length); long (time); protracted; prolonged
to read and understand; to take in; to sense from external cues; to read (someone's) mind; to read (calibration, tape, etc.); to scan (bar code)
to strengthen; to emphasize; to emphasise
a little; some; somewhat; amount; quantity; number
change; alteration; difference; distinction; something wrong; abnormality
patting; stroking; caressing
bonze; monk; monk's dwelling; boy; son; I; me
no use; useless; not fit for its purpose
myself; oneself; (arch.) I; (arch.) me; (arch.) you (referring to one's inferior)
to be too numerous; to be too much
to be answerable (for); to take the blame
in short; in a word; to sum up; to put it simply; to make a long story short; after all
employer's house; master's house
drama; play; powerful drug
losing one's position; losing one's standing; downfall; fall (from power); being overthrown
to summon; to get used to call
step; stride; counter for steps
self-destruction; ruining oneself; natural decay; perishing naturally
trial; judgement; judgment
soliloquy; monologue; speaking to oneself
assistant; associate; duplicate; copy; adverb
seat; location (of a gathering, etc.); place; position; post
to snatch away; to dispossess; to steal
air hole; windhole; ventilator
top; top position; senior management; senior bureaucrat
ventilation; communication (within an organisation); openness
to become better; to improve
monopoly; monopolization; exclusivity; hogging; keeping to oneself
strength; power; proficiency; ability
to need; to call for; to require
top brass; upper echelon; higher-ups; top management; upper reaches; top of the pile
reform; reformation; reorganization
gradually; steadily; slowly; little by little; step by step; by degrees
alumnus (alumnae); graduate; former member of an organization; former inhabitant (country, region, etc.)