military force; force of arms; strength of an army
trend of the times; way things are going
to get strong; to gain strength
to take over (someone's duties, business, etc.); to inherit; to succeed to; to hand over
to abate; to weaken; to be emaciated; to be dejected; to be perplexed
these days; nowadays; recently; lately
reward; compensation; collateral; security; turning to look behind
not worrying about one's reputation or appearance; not caring what others think
to flip-flop; to do an about-face; (lit.) to flip over one's hand; to do something easy
decline; degeneration; decay; waning; ebbing
reaction; recoil; kick; backlash
if you can't beat them; join them; you can't fight city hall; if your adversaries are stronger than you, it is better to join their side than to fight them
cowardly; craven; unfair; mean; sneaky
racking one's brains; worrying oneself; being anxious
after (a long process); at the end of; last line (of a renga)
with a twitch (e.g. an eyebrow); with a dip; with a bob; with a flutter
selfish; self-centred; egotistical
to feel keenly; to strike to the core; to touch to the quick; to pierce deep inside (e.g. of cold)
to insist; to assert; to be obstinate in saying
to defy; to disobey; to rebel against; to oppose; to resist
to save face; to keep face; to not lose face
godsend; lifesaver; timely offer; windfall
absolutely; definitely; absolute; unconditional; absoluteness
shall ...; to assume; to suppose
stroke of the brush; touch; literary style
closely (packed, lined up, etc.); tightly; densely; (work) sufficiently
character (esp. kanji); letter; handwriting; penmanship; the ... word (e.g. "the L word" = "love")
to fill in (field, entry, etc.); to fill out (form); to post a message (e.g. on a bulletin-board); to store; to write (data); to flash
speciality; specialty; special subject of study; sole interest; single focus; concentrating exclusively on
by chance; by accident; accidentally; occasionally; once in a while; now and then
sprinkling (of rain, salt, etc.); pattering; flipping (through a book, etc.); riffling; sparse; scattered
to guess; to conjecture; to surmise
to fit (e.g. a pane into a frame); to insert (e.g. a cork); to put on (something that envelops; e.g. a ring, gloves); to place (a hoop) around; to pigeonhole (into a particular category); to force (into a mold); to entrap
to be lifted up (with a crane, ropes, etc.); to be raised; to be hoisted; to turn upward (esp. of eyes); to slant upward
soon; before long; in the near future
bell (often a large hanging bell); chime
to manipulate (someone); to make (someone) dance to one's tune; to lead astray; to make (someone) dance; to let dance
as you are aware; as you know