scenery; scene; landscape; scene (e.g. of a crime)
making a round trip; going and returning; round-trip ticket; return ticket; correspondence; exchanging (of letters)
farce; charade; person who serves tea; short and humorous improvised sketch (originating from Edo-era kabuki)
to smile cheerfully; to crack a smile
merit system (as opposed to seniority); meritocracy; ability-ism
rubbish; trash; garbage; refuse; litter
to deprecate oneself and praise the listener; to abase oneself
unnatural; affected; studied; forced
whether one likes it or not; willy-nilly
to be noticeable; to notice; to catch one's eye
openly; in public; without caring what others think
to devote oneself wholeheartedly to; to sacrifice one's health for; to risk one's life
milk; breast; loop; decorative bump (on a hanging bell)
to be fulfilled; to be satisfied
to feel gloomy; to have doubts (e.g. about the future); to be at a loss (e.g. over what to do)
right of first night; jus primae noctis; droit du seigneur
least; lowest; worst; awful; horrible; at the very least
to say something is all right; to give the all-clear (e.g. to do something)
(doing) as one pleases; to one's heart's content; letting (something) go unchecked; leaving uncontrolled; leaving (something) to take its own course
to lose (something); to get rid of; to eliminate; to remove
matter of life or death; life-and-death problem
dirty joke; blue joke; indecent topic; bawdy subject; sex talk
to spring; to bound; to be stimulated; to be encouraged; to pay handsomely; to splurge
as much as one wants; as many as one wants; all that one wishes for
saying something (to someone); greeting; approaching (someone)
miserable; wretched; unhappy; sad; pitiable
reasonably; fairly; hurriedly; in a rush; approximately; about
to extract; to pull out; to draw out; to headhunt; to lure away; to poach
casual; unconcerned; nonchalant; ordinary; normal; regular
no sooner than; as soon as; immediately after; at the thought of; when I think about
cutting through cloth; sound of cutting through cloth; shrieking sound; woman's scream; cry of the lesser cuckoo (Cuculus poliocephalus)
to spring at; to leap upon; to swoop down on; to throw oneself upon (e.g. an enemy)
to fall behind; to lag behind; to be outdistanced; to be beaten
stealthily; secretly; in secret