was it?; I think it was ...; if I've got it right; (I, we) used to ...; I remember ...; it was ...
gaudy; showy; garish; crooked; vicious; wicked
setback; deadlock; standstill; impasse; miscarriage
faint; dim; weak; poor; wretched; meagre
to mix with; to be mixed; to be mingled
provoking; rather annoying; (speaking ironically) darling
beast (i.e. any animal other than man); person reborn into the animal realm; brute (i.e. a contemptible human being); damn it; damn
to project; to protrude; to pop out (e.g. eyes); to jump out; to rush out
all over the body; from head to foot; all over
to run about; to rush about
long ago; already; a long time ago
educational institution; school; academy; campus
to catch up (with); to draw level; to pull even; to be compensated; to make up for one's losses
a little bit; a little while
absurdity; contradiction; incoherence; irrelevance
thrust; charge; digging into (a matter); depth; straight man (of a comedy duo); quip; jab
scream; shriek; shout; exclamation
meek; gentle; modest; praiseworthy; admirable
currently nowhere to be seen; unknown where it went; disappeared into thin air
warm and fluffy; soft; steamy hot (food); hot and flaky; feeling mentally tired; feeling of tired relief or accomplishment after effort or perseverance
devastating; gut-wrenching; shocking; startling; sensational; astounding
nervous temperament; worrier's disposition
complete; completion; perfection; accomplishment
(if) by some chance; by some possibility; in the unlikely event that; (unlikely event of) emergency; the worst(-case scenario)
vacantly; blankly; openmouthed; with one's mouth wide-open; with a whack; with a thump
point; tip; head (of a line); front; first; before; (the way) ahead
making a round trip; going and returning; round-trip ticket; return ticket; correspondence; exchanging (letters)
to say enough (as much as required); to say plenty; to say well; to say cleverly; to say often; to say frequently
to speak badly (of); to speak ill (of); to bad-mouth
circumstances; condition; to arrange; to manage; to lend money; to raise money
explanation; interpretation
elementary school student; primary school student; grade school student
beginning; start; outset; at first; at the beginning; initially
memorization; memorisation; learning by heart
considerable; great; important; significant; a big deal