stiffening; rigidity; rigor; stiffness; ossification; petrification
to speak ill of; to disparage
to exert oneself and win; to gain (victory)
getting or keeping acquainted with; keeping or establishing useful contacts
to borrow; to have a loan; to hire; to rent; to buy on credit
to borrow money; to call for loans
sampling food; tasting; trying
romance (e.g. Arthurian romances); heroic tale; (nigh) impossible dream; adventurous spirit; (full-length) novel; romance
to smoke; to smoulder; to be sooty; to be smoke-stained; to smoulder (e.g. a dispute); to smolder
gallant; brave; imposing; awe-inspiring; severe; biting
to go; to come; to turn out (at a meeting, event, etc.); to show up; to make your way to
sender; consignor; remitter
speech; expression; wording; language
ought to have been; was ... right?; to do for (inferiors)
to resolve; to ready (oneself); to make up one's mind
suburb; residential area on the outskirt of a city; commuter belt
isolation; segregation; separation; quarantine
eighth day of the month; eight days
to impose a gag order; to hush up; to order someone not to mention something
cancellation; rescinding; release; calling off; lifting (sanctions); delisting
lack of words; being tongue-tied; suppressing what you want to say
suspicious; dubious; doubtful; unsure; untrustworthy; unreliable; strange
cheerful; lively; lighthearted
nervous; highly strung; sensitive; fussy; worried about petty things
to resign from one's post
fair-skinned; light-complexioned
to be sacked; to be dismissed
forgetting; lapse of memory
to let leak; to let out (e.g. light); to let out (a secret); to leak (information); to give utterance to (e.g. one's dissatisfaction); to vent; to wet one's pants
not asking (about); letting go unquestioned; disregarding; ignoring; overlooking
distinction (e.g. between right and wrong, public and private, etc.)
not factored in; not included in calculations; unaccounted for; unplanned for
training; education; stocking up; laying in; preparation (e.g. ingredients); girl studying to become a geisha
national defence; national defense
circuitous; roundabout; indirect
to spit out; to eject; to dump
mask; disguise; guise; mask
affected; smug; pompous; conceited; snobby; pretentious
to enclose; to impound; to cut off; to corral
to aggravate; to complicate; to make worse
one's relationships; people one knows; circle of friends
joint; knuckle; tune; melody; knot (in wood); node in a bamboo stem
to be beyond one's capacities; to be beyond one's powers; to be beyond one's control; to be unmanageable
manner of speaking; mode of expression; way of saying something