difficult to imagine; quite unlikely to; very doubtful; would not expect
to smoke; to smoulder; to be sooty; to be smoke-stained; to smoulder (e.g. a dispute); to smolder
to fan (oneself, flames, etc.); to flap (in the wind); to instigate; to stir up; to drive up prices (by buying a large amount of something); to take a photo from a low angle; to tailgate
reasoning; inference; deduction; mystery genre; detective genre
if it is (the case that ...)
wicked person; evil person; bad child; naughty child; bad thing; mischief
natural; understandable; reasonable; no wonder
to withstand; to be able to endure
present age; present day; contemporary; modern era; modern times; contemporary era
natural disaster; natural calamity; act of God
exaggeration; overstatement; saying too much; misstatement; slip of the tongue; gaffe
(a) principle; (a) reason; (a) point; some truth
point in common; common feature
to pull (the puppet) strings; to direct things from behind the scenes; to stretch out (and keep going); to linger on
spirit of study (inquiry, enquiry); (having) an inquiring mind
truth; reality; truly; really; absolute truth
extravagant; absurd; unbelievable; enormous; tremendous; extraordinary
ironically enough; as irony would have it; in a nice little twist
to follow (a road, path, etc.); to trace; to follow (a clue, scent, tracks, plot, etc.); to trace (a route, history, family tree, etc.); to head towards (of a situation); to go in the direction of
liver; innards; courage; spirit; crux; essential point
heavy (feeling, etc.); gloomy (weather, etc.); oppressive (atmosphere, etc.); stifling; strained
all present; all concerned; all of us
tightly (packed); densely; closely; crammed
charge; custody; safekeeping; deposit; storage
shelf; ledge; rack; trellis
circumference; outskirts; environs; (computer) peripheral
to shoot (arrow, bolt, dart)
highish; somewhat high; on the high side; somewhat expensive; comparatively expensive; on the expensive side
high praise; great admiration; with critical acclaim; to rave reviews; currently; presently
to overlook (a mistake, fault, etc.); to tolerate; to let pass; to give someone a break; to let someone off lightly; to be lenient
insertion; letter drop; sending to a prisoner; thing sent to a prisoner; supply of provisions, refreshments, etc. to someone carrying out a task
simple; plain; modest; frugal; reserved
confectionery; sweets; candy; cake
basket; basketball; basket cloth
to hold out; to extend (e.g. a hand); to present; to submit; to sacrifice; to give (up)
about; concerning; related to; -ish
to prick up one's ears and listen; to listen attentively
depressing; dark (e.g. story); grim (e.g. expression); irritating; annoying; tedious (work, person, etc.)
meeting; conference; session; assembly; council; convention
or something; or something like that; or words to that effect; something or other
to become hollow (with age, illness, etc.); to be scrawny; to be thin
overdose; excessive consumption
herbal tea; herb tea; tisane
stylish; fashionable; dressing (oneself) up; dressing smartly; fashionable dresser; smartly dressed person
offset; offsetting each other; set-off; setoff; killing each other