confrontation; opposition; antagonism
origin of an affair; spark that lit the fuse; beginning
to stand on a podium; to teach; to be a teacher
to age; to grow old (esp. in appearance); to show marks of age
slovenly (appearance, work, etc.); sloppy; untidy; weak; feeble; weak-willed
thoroughly; through and through; out and out; in every way; from beginning to end; from start to finish
slack; loose; lax; slovenly; sloppy
strict; severe; stern; rigid; rigorous; tough
opposite; reverse; contrary; front and back; parallel to; back to back
format; procedure; way of proceeding
novel; original; new; innovative
subject; theme; homework; assignment; problem (that needs solving); task
this is why; that is the reason why; it is the case that; so; thus; with that
talk; recital; narration; topic
fact; truth; reality; in fact; actually
enumeration; citation; listing
in spite of; despite; although; nonetheless; nevertheless; but
charm; fascination; glamour; glamor; attraction; appeal
to feel right; to sit well with one; to be happy about; to suit to a T; to fit well together
contents; content; substance; matter; detail; import
easy; likely to ...; have a tendency to ...; easy to ...
if anything; if pushed I'd say; if I had to say
the sciences; STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics)
(school) subject; curriculum; course; item; heading; entry
memorization; memorisation; learning by heart
poor (at); weak (in); not very good (at); not one's cup of tea; not one's favorite
(a person's) appearance; looks
interest (in something); curiosity (about something); zest (for)
name of an imperial era (e.g. Heisei, Shōwa); Japanese era name
straight; quickly; quietly; gently; to feel refreshed; to feel satisfied
shape; form; appearance; style; state; situation
nothing one can say (e.g. about something perfect); not a thing one can complain about; better than one could hope for
to play a leading role; to play a central part
gradually; by degrees; little by little; bit by bit
leaping flames; flying sparks; spread of fire (due to leaping flames); repercussions in unanticipated areas; spilling over; impetigo contagiosa
trigger (of a gun, etc.); trigger (for something); immediate cause
capital (esp. Kyoto, Japan's former capital); seat of government; capital (of music, fashion, etc.); city (e.g. of light); location of the Imperial Palace
skylark (Alauda arvensis)
slip; omission; upshot; denouement; punch line (of a joke)