teasing; banter; ribbing; jest; making fun (of); poking fun (at)
cause; seed; variety; kind; counter for varieties
please!; I'm asking you; for heaven's sake
to shake off (e.g. rain from an umbrella)
occupying; having (an area) all to oneself; military occupation; possession; capture
to put in a word for; to second; to support
retrogression; reversal; relapse; doubling back; backtracking
bitter smile; wry smile; forced smile; strained laugh
to be effective; to take effect; to work; to function well; to be possible (to do, use, etc.); to be able to
irritating; troublesome; gloomy (e.g. mood); depressing; heavy (weather); cloudy
married couple; husband and wife; man and wife
the person concerned; the person in question; the said person
custody; detention; confinement
to make matters worse; besides; what's more; in addition; on top of that
state; condition; situation; appearance; circumstances
to speak; to talk; to mediate; to act as a go-between; to put in a good word (for someone)
for the present; for the time being; for a while (from now); for some time (to come)
from one's side; from the side (of something); from someone unconnected; from someone uninvolved
shrewdly; smartly; calculatingly; astutely; cunningly
to cut into (a conversation); to interject
to be reasonable; to stand to reason; to be logical; to hold water
to turn away; to face away; to ignore; to be uncooperative; to be unconciliatory
feigning ignorance; acting dumb
to sense; to perceive; to understand; to comprehend; to attain enlightenment
piece of evidence; evidence
house where one was born; one's parents' house
on and after; from ... onward; since
restriction; restraint; binding; constraint
shock (emotional); shock (physical); impact; crisis (esp. financial); event that rattles the markets; (circulatory) shock
to accompany; to go hand in hand with; to be consequent upon; to be accompanied by; to bring with; to take with
at that time; in those days
young child; toddler; child over 1 but not yet of school age
one (esp. of two); the other; on the one hand; on the other hand; whereas; although
to be away from home; to be out of the house
(one's) older brother; lad; sonny
standoffishly; primly; pungently (of a smell); acridly; long and pointed (e.g. of a nose); popping (of ears)
subtle; delicate; difficult; complex; doubtful; questionable
cover (of a book, magazine, etc.); binding; to appear on the cover of a magazine
to take back; to get back; to regain; to recover; to restore; to recoup
confrontation; to face; to confront; to encounter
tranquil; calm; restful; peaceful; quiet