fixed date; appointed date; set date; deadline; due date
difficult voyage; stormy passage; hard flight; rough going; running into trouble; proceeding with difficulty
careful; elaborate; scrupulous
as likely as not; fifty-fifty; even match; tie
to track down; to locate; to find out; to smoke out; to ferret out; to chase up
preparing to flee; being ready to run away
poor-quality; shoddy; unskillful; inexpert; unlucky
irregular (schedule, service, etc.); indeterminate (length of time); staggered (payments)
impossible; incapable (of doing); incompetence; inability; impotence; having no solution (of an equation)
unreasonably stubborn; not knowing when to give up
no sooner ... than ...; hardly ... when ...; as soon as ...
exterior; surface; outside; outward appearance; looks
key to a solution; first step toward a solution; thread to unravel a mystery
being done for; giving up; being in a hopeless situation; not knowing what to do; being brought to one's knees; (lit.) throwing up (one's) hands
idea; thought; discretion; forgiveness; pardon
in a lively way; vividly; freshly; animatedly; actively; energetically
to wrinkle; to crinkle; to shrivel
fine wrinkles; crow's feet
sense organ; sensory organ
water tank; cistern; fish tank; aquarium
adjustment; retouching (in photography)
fluorescent lamp; fluorescent light; person who is slow to react; someone slow on the uptake
to go over one's head; to be beyond one's comprehension
to be reflected in a mirror
gloss; luster; mellowness (of a voice); youthfulness (e.g. of skin); interest; appeal
another thing; other things; another man's property
to be brought forward (e.g. by three hours); to be moved up; to be hasty; to be rash; to quicken; to speed up
deterioration (in quality, performance, etc.); degradation; worsening; (visible) aging; becoming unattractive (due to aging)
counting backwards; calculating backwards; inverse operation
scientific crime detection; forensic investigation
uncommon; rare; extraordinary; matchless
by any standard; (not) even as flattery
total energy; all efforts
call; summons; convening; convocation
each ministry; each province (of China)