distant (from someone); aloof; estranged; knowing little (of); ill-informed (about); ignorant (of)
the other day; lately; recently; meanwhile; in the meantime
was it?; I think it was ...; if I've got it right; (I, we) used to ...; I remember ...; it was ...
to gulp down; to swallow deeply; to understand; to take in; to engulf; to swallow up
but then; although; though; reasonable; natural; just
quiet; silent; slow; unhurried; calm; peaceful
to strike; to hit; to beat; to punch
at once; right away; promptly; on the spur of the moment
in a daze; absent-mindedly; dimly; hazily; with a roar (of flames); with a whoosh
to stick up (hair, etc.); to stand up straight; to stand up abruptly; to jump to one's feet; to stand in one place, doing nothing in particular; to stand around
carefree; optimistic; careless; reckless; heedless; happy-go-lucky
to learn by experience; to learn one's lesson; to learn the hard way; to be discouraged (by); to have enough (of); to be disgusted (with)
reflection; reconsideration; introspection; regret; repentance; remorse
dull (e.g. a knife); blunt; thickheaded; obtuse; dull (sound, color, etc.); dim (light)
dramatic (improvement); remarkable (difference); marked; (far) better; exceptional
thin; pale; light; watery; thin; weak (taste, etc.); little (affection, etc.) not much (of a presence)
device; contrivance; trick; trap; (small) scale; half finished; commencement
magic (illusion); conjuring; magic trick; conjuring trick; sleight of hand
fraud; swindle; graft; saying you're going to do something but in the end not doing it; making promises without keeping them
two times; twice; two degrees
continuation; succession; series
bizarre plan; perplexing strategy; outlandish scheme
always; without exception; necessarily; certainly; without fail; positively
for better or worse; luckily or unluckily
to crown; to cap; to prefix with; to start with; to begin with
to overlook; to command a view of; to look down on; to despise; to look down on
peacetime; time of peace; ordinary times; normal times
block (of wood); chip; splinter
knitting wool; woolen yarn; woollen yarn
handmade; homegrown; hand-crafted; homemade
Japanese laurel; spotted laurel; Aucuba japonica; live tree
(social) class; rank; grade
great; excellent; very troublesome; awful; tiring; tough
washing; sashimi chilled in iced water
right; right-hand side; afore-mentioned (esp. in vertical Japanese writing); foregoing; forgoing
to wriggle; to writhe; to squirm; to scrawl
letter (of alphabet); character; writing
to write; to compose; to pen; to draw; to paint