cannot (do); it is impossible that...; it is (highly) unlikely that...
honestly speaking; in truth; in all honesty; to be frank
evil; wickedness; (role of) the villain (in theatre, etc.); the bad guy
gentle clinking; sound of rapping; sound of rattling; simmering noise; light bubbling; sound of cooking something on a low flame
to boil; to simmer; to stew; to seethe
to boil down; to concentrate (soup, milk, stock, etc.); to reach a conclusion; to conclude a discussion
business; affairs; duties; work; procedure; task
to catch fire; to provoke; to catch fire from; to be ignited
to end without incident; to not turn into something serious
great laughter; burst of laughter
to relax one's mind; to feel relaxed; to become remiss; to cease paying careful attention
to brace oneself; to focus one's energies; to focus one's mind
middle of the night; dead of night
quilt; bedspread; cover (for a kotatsu quilt); cloak; smock; second dyeing
eye; eyeball; eyesight; sight; look; stare; notice
lower floor; downstairs; bottom of the stairs; foot of the stairs
pillow; bolster; introduction (e.g. to a rakugo story); lead-in
to have an idea; to have a clue
sleep-talking; nonsense; gibberish
to advance on; to close in; to march on; to descend on (the enemy); to move towards; to surge forward (crowd, wave of nostalgia, wave, etc.)
to gather up; to scrape up together; to rake
discussion; talk; tête-à-tête; conference
of late; lately; this part; this point; here
calm before a storm; lull before the storm
having one's hands full; not having any room to do more; at the limit
smelling burnt; smelling scorched; smelling of gunpowder (i.e. as if armed conflict is about to break out); tense; suspicious; dubious
switching over to; migration; transition
to start; to begin; to commence
from time immemorial; ancient; time-honoured; time-honored
noisily (crowd of people talking); clamorously; in a hubbub; jabberingly; chatteringly; buzzingly
to be seized with fear; to be intimidated; to lose one's nerve; to be frightened; to get cold feet; to chicken out
cased; boxed; precious; cherished; girl who has been sheltered from the world; one's special talent
matter of time; question of time
among these; between these; of these; in here; in this
hands and feet; limbs; person at one's beck and call; person at hand; reliable worker
to protrude; to stick out; to be forced out; to be pushed out; to go over (e.g. a budget); to go beyond
carrying (child) under arm