small fish; small fry; (a) nobody; small fry; unimportant person
cancellation; withdrawal; asking to be excused; begging off; not taking
to bury; to inter; to entomb; to cover up; to hush up; to shelve
sky; air; ether; firmament; the heavens
remaining bony parts (of a fish after filleting); flaw (esp. of a person); fault; rice chaff; rough; crude
eagle (Accipitridae family)
floor; stage (for the narrator and the shamisen player); dining platform built across a river
maintenance; preservation; improvement
backflip; backward somersault
each time it happens; at all such times
calling repeatedly (e.g. someone's name); pronouncing successively (usu. repeating a syllable with voicing, as in "tsuzuku")
many; much; plenty; hardly
to line up; to stand in a line; to rival; to match; to equal
line along which to cut something off; perforated line; dotted line
ability; performance; efficiency
method; process; manner; way; means; technique
suppression (e.g. of free speech); force-out
to spread; to propagate; to popularize; to broaden; to extend; to widen
to begin to do; to cater; to deliver food
important matter; matter of great importance; serious affair; major incident; emergency
to mutter; to murmur; to grumble; to tweet (Twitter)
to cheer up; to be encouraged (by); to be in high spirits
competition; rivalry; something worth doing
silly; foolish; absurd; childish; easy; trifling
contest; comparison; competition
identical; same; one and the same; fair; equal treatment; without discrimination
to compare; to make a comparison; to compete; to vie
negligence; neglect; carelessness; procrastination
to rely on; to depend on; to count on; to turn to (for help)
personification; impersonation; embodiment
to envy; to be envious of; to be jealous of
threatening attitude; menacing look; angry look
to surpass; to outstrip; to excel
to rub together (e.g. one's hands)
to add; to add up; to increase; to gather (e.g. speed); to include; to count in
to give up (a plan or idea); to desist from (doing)
supposing; even if; granting that; temporarily; provisionally; for the time being
in short; the point is; the important thing is; in a word; basically
to melt (and become soft or liquid); to be enchanted (by); to be charmed; to be bewitched