to pierce; to stab; to sting; to bite; to sew; to stitch; to pole (a boat)
speciality; specialty; special subject of study; sole interest; single focus; concentrating exclusively on
there is no need to ...; never happens; there is never a time when
very; extremely; exceedingly; top; highest; best
to blow (of the wind); to blow (one's breath); to breathe out; to play (a wind instrument); to blow (a whistle, trumpet, etc.); to emit (smoke, fire, etc.); to spout
sentence; composition; text; the literary arts (as opposed to the military arts); academia; statement
indecisively; hesitantly; irresolutely; wishy-washily
three times (as much); treble; triple; threefold
to begin to say; to start talking; to broach (a matter); to be the first to say; to suggest (doing); to propose
consumption; expenditure; spending
counter for books; volume
Sunday; nth day (of the month); counter for days; Japan
rereading; reading again; reading a single kanji twice (with different pronunciations) in kanbun
5th day of the month; five days
three flat objects (sheets of paper, pieces of cloth, etc.); cutting a fish into two boneless fillets and a piece with the skeleton
pay; salary; to pay (off); to be profitable; heroin
he; she; this; this one; hey, you!; you bastard!
rare; extraordinary; singular
very; greatly; extremely; exceedingly; highly; quite
superior; first-class; excellent; (that's) just fine!; bring it on!
idea; thought; discretion; forgiveness; pardon
series; chain; two reams (i.e. 1000 sheets of paper); verse; stanza
to be talked about; to get a name for oneself; to get publicity
notice; attention; observation
echo; reverberation; response; reaction; repercussions
synthesis; combination; general; combined; synthesis; colligation
taking a story with a grain of salt; discounting half the story
wonderful; marvelous; strange; strangely enough; oddly enough; for some reason
ordinary; common; commonplace; mediocre; unremarkable; undistinguished
extent; scope; sphere; range; span
(a) step; one step; level; stage; small degree; small amount
on purpose; deliberately; intentionally
common-sense expectation; obvious conclusion; conventional wisdom; received opinion
alphabet; ABCs; the ABCs (of); basics; activity-based costing; ABC
to put on airs; to throw one's weight about; to swagger; to act arrogantly
superior airs; air of importance; overemphasis
not becoming a problem; out of the question; not worth considering; insignificant; negligible
striking; remarkable; considerable
to be heard; to be audible; to sound (like); to come across (as); to be well known; to be famous
smallness; small item; short month (i.e. having fewer than 31 days); urine; piss; elementary school; smaller (of two things, places, etc. with the same name)
tragedy; tragic drama; tragic play; tragedy; calamity; disaster
fear; dread; dismay; terror; horror; scare