man of the hour; woman of the hour
easy; smooth; without a hitch; quick
to be related; to be connected; to be joined together; to result in; to lead to; to bring about
official use; government business
(on the) right track; (on the) right lines
pride; self-confidence; thinking highly of oneself; being proud of one's abilities or achievements
very careful; thoroughly prepared
bribe; sweetener; douceur
stronghold (esp. of an enemy or opponent); inner citadel; bastion
beautiful (of one's appearance, voice, bearing, etc.); lovely; heartwarming (of a relationship, state of affairs, etc.); beautiful; wonderful
to run aground; to strike a rock; to be stranded on a reef; to reach a deadlock; to come to a standstill; to run into difficulties
to lead (an advance); to spearhead (a campaign, attack)
confrontation; to face; to confront; to encounter
difficult problem; challenge
direct talks; direct negotiations; talking to someone in person
to think of; to come up with
hot topic; talk of the town
useless; worthless; silly; trivial
to intensify; to be excited; to fly into a rage; to dash against; to encourage
business world; business circles; (the) industry
bashful; shameful; ashamed
burly; strong; indomitable; indefatigable; robust (vitality, appetite, economic growth, etc.); strong
exposing; unmasking; laying bare
to fall (on); to rain down; to shower down; to befall; to happen (to)
ancient times; prehistoric times; the distant past; a very long time ago
several hundred; hundreds (of)
eruption; volcanic eruption
misgovernment; misrule; bad government
devastating; catastrophic; crushing
really; very; extremely; (not) anything; (not) at all; (not) a bit
to speak ambiguously; to be vague; to equivocate; to prevaricate
which reminds me ...; come to think of it ...; now that you mention it ...; on that subject ...; so, if you say ...
the four cardinal directions; north, east, south and west; all around; here and there; four sides (of a square)
for some reason or other; somehow; whatsitsname; what-you-call-it; and so on; and you know the rest
(apparently) that's what it's like, isn't it; that sort of (thing mentioned immediately prior)
yes; sure; gotcha; sycophantically; servilely; fawningly
to happen to hear; to overhear
foot (of a mountain or hill); bottom; base
opposite side; other side