firmly; solidly; sturdily; strongly; toughly
to be flustered; to lose one's presence of mind
protest; refutation; pleading
what; so-and-so; such and such; what?; wait; well, well
before one knows it; before one realises; without one's knowledge; without noticing
gallery; corridor; art gallery; upper gallery (in a theatre); spectators (esp. at a golf tournament)
lovely; wonderful; nice; great; fantastic; superb
wrong; groundless; different; separate; unexpected; surprising
rumour; rumor; report; hearsay; gossip; common talk
to spread; to be propagated
being surrounded by enemies on all sides; being betrayed (forsaken) by everybody
fighting with one's back to the wall; having burnt one's bridges; last stand; from strategy of general Han Xin in the Battle of Jingxing
has reached its limit; has reached its peak
obstinate; stubborn; mulish; die-hard; bigoted
cum (e.g. bedroom-cum-study); holding both roles (e.g. Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs); and; in addition; concurrently; at the same time
to assign; to allot; to allocate; to divide among; to distribute; to prorate
head; lead; vanguard; first
blocking (e.g. the way); obstructing; block (lump of something (usu. square), area of town, etc.); block; physical record (e.g. on magnetic tape); concrete block; blocking (from view, esp. of websites, on social media, etc.)
here and there; everywhere
opening (a door, window, etc.); leaving open; opening up (e.g. to the public); allowing (public) access
anyone; anybody; everyone; everybody; whoever
standing in a row; forming a line; alignment
crisply; with a crunch; refreshingly; sharply; candidly; frankly
meeting up; gathering; assembly; set
green; greenery (esp. fresh verdure)
outline; summary; overview; synopsis; abstract; abridgment
neck; bottleneck; obstruction; neckline
to raise one's hand; to surrender; to raise one's hand to someone (as a threat to strike); to become better (at something); to improve; to throw one's hat in the ring
maximum; to the maximum degree; to the full
weight (e.g. paperweight); pressing down; keeping control; exercising authority; having self-control; exercising self-discipline
to reach one's ears; to come to one's knowledge; to hear about; to learn of (by chance)
aptitude; aptness; suitability
indicates uncertainty or second hand nature of information quoted
hearty; tremendous; magnificent; glorious; splendid; heroic
to interlace; to fit together; to combine; to mingle
to be crushed; to be smashed; to become useless; to cease functioning; to go bankrupt; to go out of business
lining; backing; backing up (e.g. a theory); support; bolstering
part; part-timer; part-time (work)
(repeated) side stepping (stamina test); side-step test