to be precocious; to be mature for one's age; to seem grown-up; to seem mature
vocabulary; lexicon; lexis; terminology
colloquialism; colloquial language; slang
to explain away (a mistake, failure, etc.); to make excuses for; to gloss over; to talk one's way out of
accompanying; being accompanied by; going with
rather; sooner; preferably
(jumping) nimbly; light-footed; boing; used at sentence end to affect cuteness
to drag down; to pull down; to force out (of power, office, role, etc.)
jostle; struggle; scuffle
(walking) stick; cane; wand
gofer; dogsbody; person who is made to do things or get things for someone else
surely; certainly; no doubt; indeed
leather cover; leather binding
eggplant (Solanum melongena); aubergine
(a) stop (e.g. in a timber joint, or at the end of a kanji stroke); remaining (e.g. poste-restante); forty-five degree angle
dilettante; person of fantastic taste
to float; to rise to the surface; to stand out; to be visible; to be alienated
to finish reading; to read through
one Nth part (e.g. one fifth, one tenth); one out of N
therefore; thus; well, then ...; that's right; indeed; (arch.) ... on earth?
(idle) curiosity; fancifulness; whimsy; (having) strange tastes
sentence structure; grammatical construction
antiques business; curio dealer; secondhand dealer
stern expression; severe expression; grim expression
to be seized with fear; to be intimidated; to lose one's nerve; to be frightened; to get cold feet; to chicken out
cowardly; timid; easily frightened
adventurous spirit; sense of adventure
spoiled fun; loss of interest; damper (e.g. on the party); wet blanket; turn-off
expulsion (of a pupil); excommunication; anathema
inside a car (train, bus, etc.)