unnatural; artificial; affected; strained
sentence; composition; text; the literary arts (as opposed to the military arts); academia; statement
change in pronunciation or meaning of a word; sound change; word with an altered pronunciation or meaning; turning or twisting part of a text (in Chinese poetry)
occupation; profession; job; vocation; career; trade
yearning; longing; aspiration; adoration; admiration
to succeed (someone); to take over from; to pick up the torch
from the bottom of one's heart; heartily; sincerely
that much; as much; to that extent; only that; that alone; no more than that
evasion; avoidance; recusal (of a judge)
to raise one's head; to come to the fore; to rise into importance; to gain strength; to rear its head
cool (temperature, color, etc.); cool (i.e. calm and collected); cool-headed; cool (i.e. fashionable or stylish); course (of medical treatment)
absorbed in; immersed in; forgetting oneself; daze; within a dream; while dreaming
almost certainly; in all probability; ten to one; near-completeness; near-perfection; ninety-nine percent (finished, etc.)
company; friendship; association; (romantic) involvement; dating
dangling; hanging; suspended; pending; half done; in limbo
logical connection; chain of reasoning; coherence; blood vessel
to apply for; to make an application; to propose (marriage); to offer (mediation); to make an overture (of peace); to challenge
to rub in; to smear on; to spread on; to lay the blame on
Records of the Three Kingdoms (Chinese historical text)
showing (someone) special courtesy (to persuade them to take a post)
one more time; once more; once again
refreshingly; with a feeling of relief; shapely; neatly; cleanly; without trouble; clearly
lifespan; life; lifetime; life (of a battery, lightbulb, etc.); service life; end of an object's (useful) life
to shrink; to contract; to diminish (in size)
(having) bad marks or results (e.g. in school); of poor quality or workmanship
lived-in feel (e.g. of a room); sense of life; hints of daily life
thanks to ...; owing to ...; because of ...
since when; from when; how long
to connect; to link together; to tie; to fasten; to maintain; to preserve; to transfer (phone call)
to explain away; to talk one's way out of; to excuse oneself; to evade
obstinate; stubborn; headstrong
plan; measure; means; scheme; policy
it's been a long time; long time no see
last; final; end; conclusion; rust
slip; omission; upshot; denouement; punch line (of a joke)
spoiler; revealing important plot points of a story; spoiling a story
inside story; the real story (behind something); story not generally known
to chip; to be chipped; to be missing (from a set, team, etc.); to be absent; to be lacking (in); to be short (of)
compilation (of a text); editing; volume (of a text); completed literary work
to reject (a manuscript); to turn down (a proposal)
heroic; fierce; grand; sublime; magnificent