financial muscle; economic clout
town; city; municipal; urban
intelligence network; information network
flexible; lithe; soft; calisthenics
to walk about; to walk around; to conduct oneself; to act; to stop by (somewhere; esp. of a criminal on the run); to drop by
prosperous; flourishing; popular; widespread; active; lively
mountain range; mountain belt
interior; backwoods; hinterland; back regions
tribe; race; group (of people who share a common feature); gang; tribe (taxonomic rank); group (in the periodic table)
outward appearance; looks
a great variety of; diversity
government service; entering government service; finding a new lord or master to serve (of a ronin)
remarkable; striking; brilliant; splendid; spectacular; wonderful
(good) result; outcome; fruits (of one's labors); product; accomplishment
settlement; village; community; (bacterial) colony
one's own work; making by oneself; farming on one's own land; independent farmer
to have stiff shoulders; to feel ill at ease; to feel uncomfortable; serious; sober
bare minimum; minimum necessary (amount, number, etc.)
to knead again; to rework; to revise; to polish
two times; twice; two degrees
severe; strict; tough; hard
feeling of tension; air of tension; tension; nervousness
desirable; hoped for; preferable; advisable
this (very thing); this precisely
starting point; origin; origin (of coordinate axes); datum point
after the end (of something)
closely (packed, lined up, etc.); tightly; densely; (work) sufficiently
(beyond the) limits; scope; boundary
section (e.g. in a newspaper); column; field (in a form, web page, etc.); blank; handrail; railing
scornful laughter; ridicule; derision; sneer
whirlpool; swirl; eddy; vortex; maelstrom
painful; bitter; tough; difficult; cruel; harsh
to possess (someone; of an evil spirit, idea, etc.); to take hold of; to haunt
local specialty or souvenir bought as a gift while traveling (travelling); present brought by a visitor; something unpleasant that one is given (e.g. an illness while on vacation); unwelcome gift
to be suitable; to be appropriate; to match
shabby; dull; cheap; lackluster; uninspiring; depressing
reading while standing (in a bookstore, etc.); browsing (i.e. reading an item but not buying it)
to distance oneself (from); to keep (something or someone) at a distance; to maintain a distance (from)
joint; knuckle; tune; melody; node (of a plant stem); joint
betterment; improvement; kaizen (Japanese business philosophy of continuous improvement)
complete stranger; total stranger
affinity; feeling of closeness (with someone); feeling of kinship