person concerned; person qualified; person in question; party; litigant (legal)
to catch up (with); to draw level; to pull even; to be compensated; to make up for one's losses
famous; noted; renowned; celebrated; well-known
safety zone; buffer (e.g. against defeat)
on the occasion of; at the time of; when; during
to give one's life; to lay down one's life
unable to back out; unable to withdraw; unable to stop; unable to compromise
to underrate; to make light of
to sustain a serious wound
to look through; to hold up to the light; to make an opening; to leave space; to fart without making a sound
wasteland; wilderness; deserted land; prairie; vast plain; wilds
leftovers; remains; leavings; remnant; surplus
extinguishment; destruction; effacement
ignorant of the ways of the world
(it was) not until; (it was) only when
side; flank; position where one is not directly involved (in a matter); outsider's position; the sidelines
one eye; one of one's eyes; being blind in one eye; person who is blind in one eye
pitiful; pathetic; painful (to look at)
just safe (e.g. just avoiding being late, failing an exam, etc.); only just OK; barely acceptable
pounding (of one's heart); throbbing; thumping; heartily (eating); devouring; munching
system; organization; organisation; architecture
being particular (about); being fussy; being picky; being choosy; being fastidious
rendezvous (with a romantic partner); date; rendezvous (of two spacecraft)
fast typing; fast beating; fast drumming
to exchange blows; to hit each other; to punch each other; to fight
in tatters; in pieces; wiped out
throwaway match (i.e. one played after a tournament has already been decided); dead rubber
uncertain; doubtful; unreliable; unsteady; unclear; vague
doer; performer; shite; protagonist; speculator
gaudy; showy; garish; crooked; vicious; wicked
empty eyes; thousand-yard stare; blank glaze; expressionless look; (lit.) eyes of a dead fish
being empty-handed; being penniless; having no capital (for starting a business)
palm heel; heel of the palm
fleeting; transient; short-lived; empty (dream, etc.); mere (hope); faint (possibility)
to retaliate; to return a blow; to strike back (at); to retort
to make oneself available
to slacken; to loosen; to relax; to slack off (e.g. one's work, attention); to not put one's heart in
... all over again (repeating the same failure)
to narrow in (on); to home in; to focus; to target