first; firstly; first of all; Introduction; Preface
tiny amount (degree, extent); paltry amount; slightest bit
not feeling like doing ...; having no mind to ...; being in no mood for ...; indifferent; half-hearted; dispirited
middle-age; middle age; midlife; one's middle years
still more; even more; all the more; still less; even less
to unite; to join; to do together; to confuse with
palm (of one's hand); skill; (in one's) grip; (under one's) control; one's (concealed) intentions; one's cards
cowardly; timid; easily frightened
creepy (feeling); uneasy (feeling); bad (feeling); giving one the creeps; hideous; scaring
unpleasant; disagreeable; displeasing; uncomfortable; unhappy
deletion; elimination; erasure; striking out
restoration (to original state or location); reconstruction; reversion
another place; somewhere else; outside (one's family or group); someone else; not caring for; being indifferent to
this world; this life; this generation; present day
container; receptacle; case; inserting; putting in
entering a room; studying under a Buddhist teacher
to push aside; to overcome (e.g. difficulties); to align; to put in order; (arch.) to push open
interior design; interior; upholstery
hedge; fence; border; limit
strange; odd; peculiar; queer; curious
beneficial; profitable; useful; helpful; instructive
other companies in the same business; rival firms
this is not the time (for that); that's out of the question right now
brush tip; first on a list; head; chief
coordinator; coordinating role
to act as an intermediary; to step in; to come between; to intervene; to interject
previous engagement; prior contract
slightly (blushing); suddenly (getting bright, flaring up, flashing on, etc.); distractedly
bashfully; hesitantly; fidgety; restlessly; squirming; wriggling
nape of the neck; back of the neck; scruff of the neck
ecstasy; rapture; trance; senility
sound effect for slurping back up excess saliva (e.g. as stimulated by desire for food)
hungrily; greedily; voraciously; ravenously
lowborn; humble; vulgar; coarse; shabby; greedy
almost living together; spending most nights with one's partner
to take for granted; to assume; to pretend (to be); to pose (as); to go through with (what one decided to do); to persist in doing
thrust; charge; digging into (a matter); depth; straight man (of a comedy duo); quip; jab
paying back in installments (instalments); amortization plan (amortisation); gradual demolition; gradual erosion; gradual dismantlement
good-naturedness; good-natured person; credulous person; easy mark