common saying; popular version; folklore; tradition
withering; shrivelling; shrinking; contraction; atrophy
disintegration; self-destruction
cell; cell (in an organization, esp. a communist party)
highly ridiculous; quite absurd
abuse; misuse; perversion
bodily sensation; feeling in the body; physical feeling; coenesthesia; cenesthesia; coenesthesis
few decades; many decades; several decades
confinement; imprisonment; incarceration
thought experiment; gedankenexperiment
classic (work, esp. book); the classics
story; tale; legend; plot; storyline
to liken to; to compare to; to pattern after; to model after; to imitate
discipline; punishment; reprimand
killing time; keeping oneself occupied; time killer; wasting time; waste of time
peak period; pinnacle; prime; zenith; glory days
reserve; spare; treasured; valued; (ace) up one's sleeve; trump
to devise an elaborate plan; to exercise one's ingenuity; to work out a scheme
drawing; painting; picture
longed-for; anxiously awaited
as you were; return to your original position!; er, rather
public square; square; plaza; open space; clearing
sitting together in a circle; happy circle; harmony
consideration; concern; attention; thoughtfulness; making arrangements; care
to hum (a tune); to sing to oneself; to croon
to miss one's footing; to be off the right track; to be on the wrong path
to open (e.g. path); to clear (the way); to break up (e.g. land)
truth; reality; sincerity; honesty; indeed; really