deployment; disposition; posting; stationing
gunfight; exchange of shots; firefight
disadvantage; handicap; unfavorable position
to gain time; to play for time; to buy time
to guess; to conjecture; to surmise
to obtain; to come into possession of; to get hold of; to get one's hands on
to pile up; to stack; to load (car, ship, etc.); to pack; to acquire; to accumulate
bombarding; shelling; bombardment
pause; interval; distance; range; suitable time; appropriate opportunity
until something reaches the very limit; until the very last minute; up to the breaking point
prediction; prejudgment; presupposition; foregone conclusion
difference between night and day; world of difference; (being) poles apart; (lit.) difference between heaven and earth
to have a bitter experience
to hold one's breath (in fear, anxiety, etc.)
to shorten the distance (between); to close the gap (e.g. on the leader); to get closer (e.g. to someone); to close in (on)
running parallel (to); running side-by-side; keeping pace (with)
archer; bowman; bow-wielding soldier; crossbow soldier
crowding together; clustering together; close formation; swarm
battle formation; military formation
(hand) weapon; (arch.) one's forte; (arch.) one's special skill; (arch.) weapon one is skilled in using
introduction; bringing in; installation; introduction (to a story, lecture, etc.); introductory part
way of using (something); way to use; how to use; way of handling (employees, subordinates, etc.); way of treating; treatment
long distance; long haul; long-distance race
whole army; whole team; all armies; all teams
thoroughness; completeness; consistency; thorough enforcement; seeing to it that a policy, etc. is carried out without exception
contrastive conjunction (but, however, etc.); contradictory conjunction
friend and foe; enemies and allies; both sides
difficult to imagine; quite unlikely to; very doubtful; would not expect
to shorten; to narrow; to close; to shrink
to take (someone) by surprise; to do something unexpected
gunfight; firefight; gun battle; shoot-out
tightfisted; stingy; miserly; small-minded
to shave (wood, leather, etc.); to sharpen (e.g. pencil); to cut down (budget, expenses, staff, time, etc.); to curtail; to delete; to erase
or rather (say); or better (say); or perhaps I should say; or, how should I put it,...; I mean
detonation by contact; contact detonation; touching off (something); triggering; sparking
space; interval; space character; whitespace
coming flying in (of migratory birds, airborne sand, etc.); coming by airplane
to break through; to penetrate; to pierce
coming alongside (a boat, pier, etc.)