uncertain; doubtful; unreliable; unsteady; unclear; vague
serving concurrently as; holding the additional post of
vague; ambiguous; noncommittal; off-point
quiet unsociable person; obstinate person; blockhead
patience; perseverance; persistence; tenacity; energy
area of the field one is supposed to (or able to) defend; (one's) field; (one's) scope; one's type; kind of person one is attracted to
consideration; inquiry; enquiry; investigation; study
peerless; unequaled; unequalled
circumstances; sequence of events; how things got this way; details; particulars
(starting) from nothing; from scratch
to spend time (on doing something)
just one person; only one
valid; proper; right; appropriate; reasonable
mishearing; (feigned) deafness; homophonic translation of song lyrics for comic effect
a (short) time; a while; one time (in the past); a period; (arch.) two-hour period
yes; yea; aye; (arch.) to be so
suspicion will raise bogies; once you suspect something, everything else will look suspicious; jumping at shadows
rising; ascending; climbing
to pass (e.g. car); to overtake; to surpass; to outstrip; to get ahead of
to commit seppuku; to commit harakiri; to take responsibility (and resign); (arch.) to laugh until one splits one's side
to shake (from fear, cold, excitement, etc.); to shudder; to tremble
to fish; to angle; to catch; to lure in; to tempt; to attract
son-in-law taken (adopted) into family
acknowledgement; acknowledgment; understanding; approval; consent
whim; caprice; vagary; eccentricity
to suffer a disappointment; to feel let down; to have one's attack (question, etc.) sidestepped; to be given the slip
blank space (in a document); blank; void; whitespace
having special circumstances (e.g. problems, issues, advantages, flaws, defects, etc.); imperfect (merchandise); with defects
example; illustration; precedent
ardent; passionate; vehement
eccentric; queer; unconventional; peculiar; original
support; backing; patronage
schoolyard; school playground; school grounds; campus
favoritism; favouritism; partiality; prejudice; bias
outward appearance; apparent
heartache; ache in one's heart; emotional pain
that's true; of course; obviously
to dry (clothes, etc.); to desiccate
solitude; loneliness; isolation