joke; playfulness; kidding around
joke; pun; jest; smartly dressed; stylish; fashion-conscious
threshold (esp. one with grooves for sliding doors); sill
bomb blast; blast (from an explosion); shock wave
quick; speedy; prompt; rapid; swift
to split (by striking); to divide; to disclose; to speak frankly
legend; folklore; tradition
scorching heat; fierce glare of the Sun
another place; somewhere else; outside (one's family or group); someone else; not caring for; being indifferent to
ordinary; common; commonplace; mediocre; unremarkable; undistinguished
architect-designed apartment
tenement house; row house
to be busy at work; to work diligently
individuality; personality; quirk; idiosyncrasy; character; individual characteristic
individual; distinctive; unique; characteristic; personal; idiosyncratic
four legs; four-legged; quadruped
mum; mom; mummy; wifey; dear; missus
race; tribe; species; genus; stellar population (i.e. population I, II and III)
light from outside; natural light
board (across a ditch, etc.); step; tread; pedal (of an organ, etc.); treadle
instead; but (on the other hand)
right in the middle (of); midst; height
piece of paper; slip of paper; strip of paper; scrap of paper
empty; hollow; bare; main hall of a temple (often vast and empty)
available room (hotel); vacancy; room to let
vacant room; vacancy; unoccupied room; empty room
(natural) lighting (of an interior space)
neighbouring house; neighboring house
plain wood; unfinished woodwork
general (variety) store (shop)
chintz; calico; printed cotton
library; book collection; paperback book
gorge; ravine; canyon; glen
and (also); both ... and; as well as
turquoise (mineral); turquoise blue
thick (paper, cloth, etc.); heavy
to strip and leave clothes lying around
open-air fire (e.g. for garden refuse); bonfire; campfire; open fire (e.g. in a kitchen)
to begin to read; to leaf through a book