to poke (repeatedly, lightly); to nudge; to peck at (one's food); to pick at; to peck at (someone's faults, etc.); to egg on
battlefield; battleground
doll; puppet; marionette; puppet (person under the control of another); straw man; yes-man
lack of expression; lack of emotion; blank look (on one's face)
cold; frigid; dignified; distinguished; (of an atmosphere) tense; nerve-racking
confused fight; free-for-all; melee; close contest; close match
versus; against; to (e.g. score of 4 to 2, ratio of 3 to 1, vote of 320 to 180); toward ...; to ...; equal footing
specialization; specialisation
pair; couple; antithesis; counter for items that come in pairs; counter for sets (of clothes, small furniture, utensils, etc.)
other party; opposite party; opposing team; one's opponent; one's adversary
cowardly; craven; unfair; mean; sneaky
stratagem; artifice; trick; ruse; scheme; tactics
to break; to be broken; to be folded; to give in; to back down; to turn (a corner)
to be heard; to be audible; to sound (like); to come across (as); to be well known; to be famous
hah (derisively); pooh; pfft (of something disappearing); poof; huff; puff
being outnumbered (e.g. in a military context)
(real) ability; true strength; merit; arms; force
advantageous; favourable; better; profitable; lucrative; gainful
to look down on (someone); to treat with contempt; to treat disparagingly; to sneer at
pressing; urging; demanding; demand
to prick; to stab; to poke; to prod; to use (a cane); to prop oneself up with
to become late; to fall behind; to lag; to pass (of time)
as (X, then Y); with; in accordance with; in proportion to
dramatic (improvement); remarkable (difference); marked; (far) better; exceptional
to become better; to improve
provocation; stirring up; arousal; excitement; stimulation
proficiency; mastery; competence; becoming proficient (in)
how (beautiful, tasty, etc.); what a ...; nothing worth mentioning; nothing special; of what name
shameless; shameless person
savage; barbarous; barbaric; uncivilized; uncivilised
kapow; bang; bulging; filled to bursting; prostitute (catering to Occupation soldiers in Japan after WWII)
to ring (a bell); to strike (a gong, drum, etc.); to beat; to sound
confident; full of confidence; cocky; full of oneself
to kick (hard); to send flying with a kick; to kick away; to reject flatly; to refuse outright; to turn down
to mow down; to cut down; to knock down; to defeat; to beat
to sink (into); to cave in; to get stuck in (e.g. mud); to get bogged down in; to get lodged in
occurrence; happening; incident; event
hearty; tremendous; magnificent; glorious; splendid; heroic
crash; smashing (into); ramming; clash (of views, interests, teams, etc.); conflict
disastrous scene; terrible spectacle