certain; unmistaken; evident; obvious; beyond doubt
atrocious; fiendish; brutal; villainous
charm; fascination; glamour; glamor; attraction; appeal
to fully understand and agree; to be convinced; to be fully satisfied (with an explanation)
pretext; history; past; according to ...; ... says
kidnapper; kidnaper; abductor
to be a match for; to rival; to equal; to compare with; to be equivalent to
to make good one's escape; to get away; to outrun; to hold on (and win); to win narrowly
at this stage; at this point; now (contrasting with the past)
even though; despite; when
trigger (of a gun, etc.); trigger (for something); immediate cause
certain; sure; doubtless; I have no doubt; You can depend on it; It's a safe bet
to turn inside out; to turn the other way; to look at (something) from another perspective; to put it the other way round; to visit the same prostitute or geisha for a second time
trend; tendency; movement; attitude
wrong (guess or estimate); misdirected
to set one's sights on; to take aim (at); to have one's mind on
closing in on (the enemy, first place, etc.); coming close to; pressing hard; pressing hard (e.g. with a question); taking to task; grilling
to play dumb; to feign ignorance; to play the fool; to be in one's dotage
(not) anything; (nothing) at all; (not) any
opposite; reverse; contrary
to behave; to conduct oneself; to entertain; to treat someone (to a drink); to make tea for someone (tea ceremony)
in full force; in great numbers; in droves; large-scale project; grand plan
group; crowd; flock; herd; bevy; school
cannot be undone; can't be recovered from
to carry off; to run away with; to sweep away; to take entirely for oneself; to monopolize
to erase; to delete; to turn off (power); to switch off; to extinguish; to put out
not the time for; not the place for; far from; anything but; ... is out of the question; ... isn't the word for it
to repeat; to do something over again
miserable; pitiable; shameful; deplorable; pathetic
to cramp up; to tighten; to be insistent; to persist (in one's opinion); to act tough; to bluff; to prop up (e.g. with a post)
contrary person; sourpuss; dog-in-the-manger
assistance; help; aid; support; reinforcement
to flatter; to curry favor with; to curry favour with; to flirt with (woman with a man); to make eyes at (a man)
(not) in any way; in no way; at all; terribly; awfully; hopelessly
to push away; to thrust aside; to detach oneself from; to keep away from; to act coldly; to do without emotion
together; at the same time; same; identical
meek; quiet; docile; mysterious; marvelous; marvellous
reliability; trustworthiness; dependability
pretext for not revealing something (e.g. actual reason for one's failure, vested interest, etc.)
whatever (the case may be)