brush tip; first on a list; head; chief
gold (Au); golden; prosperous; money (esp. ōban coin); cash
district; area; zone; quarter; section; region
to win through (e.g. to the next round); to win game after game; to achieve a final victory; to fight to the end and win; to come out on top
national convention; national competition; national athletic meet
participation (in a tournament, match, race, etc.); entry; appearance (on the stage, television, etc.); exiting (a venue, train station, etc.); exit; being dispatched (of an ambulance, fire engine, etc.)
goes without saying; needless to say; obvious
running parallel (to); running side-by-side; keeping pace (with)
flower; blossom; cherry blossom; beauty; blooming (esp. of cherry blossoms); ikebana; hanafuda
to turn away; to face away; to ignore; to be uncooperative; to be unconciliatory
frunk; front trunk (e.g. of a car)
gradually; by degrees; little by little; steps; stairs; staircase
one's youth; early life; one's early days; one's early years
is that so?; I see; right; oh
to make one's rounds; to patrol
honestly speaking; in truth; in all honesty; to be frank
to bite; to chew; to gnaw; to fumble one's words (esp. during a play, broadcast, etc.); to falter with one's words; to crash against (e.g. of waves); to break onto (shore)
to be packed (with); to be filled; to be blocked (of a pipe, nose, etc.); to be clogged; to be become shorter; to shrink; to be at a loss (for)
to mesh (of gears, cogs, etc.); to engage with each other; to bite each other; to be on the same wavelength; to mesh
(forming a) circle; huddle; circular (battle) formation
armpit; under one's arm; beside; close to; aside; to the side; off-track
to place one's arm around each other's shoulders; to join shoulders
very small fraction (of); very small proportion; very small part; tiny bit
union; unity; bundling; binding; (arch.) putting on (clothes, armour, etc.)
unreasonable request; asking for something unreasonable
course (of events); development; progress; market order; order without limit
middle; centre; center; midpoint; heart
shout (of encouragement, etc.); yell (used to time or encourage activity, e.g. "Heave ho!")
a few minutes later; after a few minutes
putting one's courage to the test
feeling of tension; air of tension; tension; nervousness
to drain; to flow (unobstructed); to sell well; to be in good demand; to exit the stage; to remove (a prop) from the stage
thick curtain; drop curtain
chair; seat; stool; post; position; seat
to carry out (of somewhere); to transport; to take out
wings of a stage; side stage; coulisse
to run to; to come running; to rush (someplace); to hasten
older sister and younger brother
light music; popular music
live (broadcasting, music, etc.); live performance; live concert; resonant (room, etc.); reverberating