substance; essence; entity; subject; content; reality
to work on (someone); to appeal to; to make approaches to; to begin to work
elementary; basic; rudimentary
combination; assortment; matching (in a contest); pairing; combination
basics; rudiments; elements; ABCs of ...
to a surprising degree; to a remarkable extent; surprisingly; astonishingly; amazingly; alarmingly
trick; trap; stratagem; intraoperative; during surgery
to stake; to risk; to bet; to wager
quizzical; puzzled; inquisitive; suspicious; doubtful
agreement; coincidence; correspondence; conformity
acting rashly; running wildly; runaway (process); reckless baserunning
main cause; primary factor
to spin; to make yarn; to spin (a tale); to assemble (e.g. words); to put together
to start; to begin; to challenge; to pick (a fight); to set (traps); to plant (explosives)
consideration; taking into account
subconsciousness; subconscious (awareness)
failure; mistake; blunder
blind spot (e.g. of a driver); dead angle; dead ground; dead space
line; stripe; line (e.g. telephone line); wire; ray (e.g. X-ray); beam; line (e.g. of a railroad)
attack; assault; raid; criticism; censure; denunciation
inevitable; inescapable; unavoidable
not covered (by); not subject (to)
questioning; interrogation; examination (of a witness)
disposal; abandonment; scrapping; annulment; cancellation; abrogation
directions; instructions; usage method
ugly; unattractive; unsightly; unseemly
to make a display of; to show off; to flaunt
displeasure; discomfort; unpleasantness; indisposition; ailment
to result in death; to lead to death; to be fatal (e.g. disease)
unpleasant; uncomfortable; frightening; cruel; rude
to leave as; to view as; to maintain the status quo
adjustment; regulation; coordination; reconciliation; tuning; fixing
to expose to danger; to imperil; to jeopardize
silence; stillness; quietness
to hang low over (e.g. clouds); (arch.) to seclude oneself (behind screens, curtain, etc.)
selection; choice; option
at this stage; at this point; now (contrasting with the past)