buying up of goods; cornering (market)
outward appearance; ostensible; public; official
industry; (arch.) livelihood; (arch.) occupation
just before; on the verge of; on the brink of; just in front of; just ahead of
as much as one can; as much as possible; if at all possible
sales battle; business competition
laying the groundwork; behind-the-scenes maneuvering; consensus-building process; digging around the roots of a tree (before transplanting)
to pledge allegiance; to swear an oath of allegiance; to take an oath of allegiance
prefix for forming ordinal numbers
the n-th generation head of a family
accepted; fully-fledged; clear; respectable
having; holding; wear; durability; shouldering (an expense); being responsible (for paying)
ruin; fall; collapse; downfall; bankruptcy
to go broke; to be reduced to poverty; to be driven to destitution
fragment; small piece; scrap; shred (e.g. of emotion); trace; bit
upstart; nouveau riche; new money; piece promoted to gold general
to crown; to cap; to prefix with; to start with; to begin with
How did you like ...?; How about ...?; What's going on?; How's it going?
assertion; declaration; affirmation
security; guarantee; collateral; guarantee (e.g. of safety)
function; facility; faculty; feature
certificate; certified document; (the) thumbs up; seal of approval; paper with signature of the shogun or lord
chance; opportunity; occasion
to find the resolve (to do); to make up one's mind (with); to act on a thought
to hold out; to extend (e.g. a hand); to present; to submit; to sacrifice; to give (up)
to be worried; to be troubled
to cut into (a conversation); to interject
space; room; unused land; room (for reconsideration, doubt, etc.); leeway; margin
occasion; time; circumstances; (in) case (of); when
to appear uncomfortable (with); to seem to hate; to express dislike
rumbling (of thunder, one's stomach, etc.); grumbling; rolling (of something large and heavy); tumbling; all over the place; everywhere; idly
as if; as it were; as though; right then; just then; at that moment
in the end; at the end of the day
undertaking; underwriting; acceptance
to trick; to cheat; to deceive; to coax; to wheedle; to soothe
to be ready and waiting; to be on the alert; to be on the watch
to outwit; to outsmart; to counterplot; to pierce something all the way through