to soften; to calm down; to be eased; to be mitigated; to subside; to abate
to overlook; to fail to notice; to miss (seeing)
serious; earnest; honest; real; legit
inconsequential; indifferent; not worth worrying about; whatever; whichever; I don't care
small; fine; minute; minor; trivial; sensitive
tongue; tongue-like object; clapper (of a bell); talon (of a lock)
formal; strict; ceremonious; stiff
once; before; formerly; never yet; never before; first time
to shift one's attention to; to shift one's focus on
even if I say so myself; for me (to do such a thing)
funny; comical; humorous; ridiculous; silly; absurd
ulterior motive; plot; scheme; complicated circumstances; intricacies
free; unfettered; according to one's own whims; doing as one likes
words of praise; eulogy; compliment
condition; term; requirement; qualification; prerequisite
to differ; to vary; to disagree
multi-course menu; multi-course dining
while it may be true that; just because; nevertheless; not necessarily
modesty; humility; being humble
to relax one's efforts; to let up; to let one's guard down
to tighten; to stiffen; to brace; to strain
to stick; to paste; to stretch; to spread; to form (e.g. ice on a pond); to fill; to swell
sometimes; at intervals; occasionally; on occasion; from time to time
the world; the earth; this world (as opposed to heaven)
to live (of humans); to reside; to inhabit; to dwell; to abide
dimension; perspective; point of reference; level (of something)
in some cases; sometimes; on occasions
ignorance; innocence; stupidity
mixing; mixture; meld; miscegenation
apt to (do); liable to; predominantly; mostly; ... reaps the rewards; ... takes the prize
to choose one's words (with care); to be careful with one's words
cultivation; refinement; culture; education
wife; bride; (one's) daughter-in-law
late-growing rice; late-ripening crops; late-blooming flowers; late developer (e.g. child who reaches puberty late); late bloomer
to be affected; to put on airs; to act like (something one isn't); to pretend to be
very; extremely; exceedingly; top; highest; best
to laugh away; to laugh off
(table) napkin; serviette; sanitary napkin; sanitary pad
mouth; lips; shape of the mouth; near an entrance; vicinity of an entrance
intent; intention; bad faith; mens rea (guilty mind)
to be possible; to be likely; to be probable
expectation; assume will happen; forecast
for a short while; for a while; for some time; for the time being