washing; laundry; relaxing; taking a break
cancellation; rescinding; release; calling off; lifting (sanctions); delisting
speciality; specialty; subject of study; expert; area of expertise
quite; utterly; (not) at all; completely; wholly; entirely
filling (up) a hole; filling in (for a gap, vacancy, etc.); stopgap; making up (for a loss, damage, etc.); covering (a deficit); cloze deletion (test format)
person who just tags along; hanger-on; person who follows someone around like a shadow; clingy person; mindless follower; (lit.) goldfish feces
tip of the hand; (use of) one's hands; cheap trick; superficial wit; cheap; makeshift (e.g. measures)
lip service; mere words; professions; lips; mouth; snout
to cut (grass, hair, etc.); to mow; to clip; to trim; to prune; to shear
unnatural; artificial; affected; strained
guy; fellow; chap; bastard; asshole; arsehole
as always; as ever; though it's always the case
to smoke; to smoulder; to be sooty; to be smoke-stained; to smoulder (e.g. a dispute); to smolder
good feeling; feeling good
sentiment; sentimentality
to be soaked in; to be flooded; to be submerged; to be immersed in (joy, memories, alcohol, etc.); to give oneself over to; to bask in
to dodge (e.g. a question); to evade; to sidestep; to give (someone) the slip
is it?; isn't it?; be; is
to ascertain; to check; to make sure
letter left behind by someone who has departed; farewell letter
gradually (progress into a state); in sequence; in order; in turn
divine punishment; wrath of God; justice of heaven; suitable punishment; just deserts; come-uppance
to make a decision; to draw a conclusion; to give a judgement; to hand down a verdict; to let go down; to lower; to do oneself
to eat; to drink; to receive (e.g. a blow); to be on the receiving end (of something undesirable); to undergo (trouble)
only recently; just of late
(mental) attitude; way of thinking; attention; care; prudence; intention
conviction; belief; confidence
hanky-panky; juggling; cheating; deception; smoke and mirrors
to connect; to link together; to tie; to fasten; to maintain; to preserve
safe and secure; safe and worry-free
distinction (e.g. between right and wrong, public and private, etc.)
to say in other words; to put another way; to express in different words; to reword; to rephrase
this and that; one thing or another
chatter mark (machine tools)
to get cold feet; to back away; to withdraw
way out; means to escape; escape route
to explain away; to talk one's way out of; to excuse oneself; to evade
inferiority (e.g. numerical); inferior position; disadvantage; unfavorable situation; unfavourable situation
when push comes to shove; when needed; when necessity arises; when the moment arrives
to change sides; to double-cross; to betray; to roll over (in bed); to turn over
(apparently) that's what it's like, isn't it
preparing to flee; being ready to run away