existence; possession; having; limited company
ordinary; nothing special; nothing to exclaim over
(starting) from nothing; from scratch
disadvantage; drawback; demerit; bad point; minus
desk pad; sheet of plastic (or cardboard, felt, etc.) placed under writing paper; being pinned under; being caught under; model; pattern
deletion; elimination; erasure; striking out
leaving everything up to someone else
(really) terrible; awful; (very) nasty; (extremely) harsh; severe
to torment; to punish; to treat harshly; to beat up; to give a drubbing; to cause damage to
ground; crust (earth); foundation (building, etc.); base; constituency; power base
counter for large animals (e.g. head of cattle); counter for insects in a collection; counter for helmets, masks, etc.
basic tone; underlying tone; trend; keynote
unable to put up any resistance; unable to put up a fight; not standing a chance (against)
(relative) merits; superiority or inferiority; quality
superman; superwoman; Ubermensch (e.g. Nietzsche's ideal man of the future); overman
(state of) apparent death; suspended animation
anyway; anyhow; as one likes; by all means; at any cost; no matter what it takes
close combat; close(-quarter) fighting; in-fighting
insight; discernment; perception; perspicacity; acumen
crown (of head); summit (of mountain); easy win for one; something received
lump of ice; block of ice; ice floe
to make a mess; to perpetrate; to do; to finish up; to be guilty of
about; roughly; generally; on the whole; completely; quite
easily; readily; with ease; without trouble
trace; vestige; mark; sign; evidence
state-of-the-art; cutting-edge
Minister of Defense; Minister of Defence
hateful; detestable; loathsome
sailing; marching; going out; dispatch
good offices; auspices; sponsorship; village official (during the Edo period)
to play a part; to get involved; to take a share; to share the burden
Japanese nationality; Japanese citizenship
other than; except for; aside from; apart from; save for
throwing in; inserting; investment; commitment (of funds, personnel, etc.); launching (a product into the market); introduction
exceedingly; extremely; decisively
to live up to (one's) expectations; to meet expectations
vice-minister; undersecretary