betterment; improvement; kaizen (Japanese business philosophy of continuous improvement)
sign; indication; omen; symptom
to impose; to visit upon; to inflict
firmly rooted; deep-seated
sound judgment; sane decision; act performed with a clear mind
obligation; favour; favor; debt of gratitude
to leave alone; to leave as is; to ignore; to neglect
conviction; belief; confidence
to exploit a gap (in attention, security, etc.); to catch off guard
to begin to run; to start running; to break into a run; to start moving (e.g. a vehicle); to take off; to get under way
to slip through (a crowd); to weave through (e.g. traffic); to pass through; to get around; to elude (e.g. the law); to evade
latch; clasp; catch; check; fastener
to be disconnected; to get out of place; to miss the mark; to get it wrong (e.g. guess, expectation); to be removed; to be excluded
to blow violently; to sweep over; to devastate
to become possible; to become able to (do)
to throw; to fling; to hurl; to neglect; to abandon; to leave alone
dialogue; conversation; talk; discussion; communication
unheard-of; unprecedented; unparalleled in history (unparallelled); record-breaking
major incident; major happening; big scandal
achievements; actual results; accomplishments; past results; track record
in so doing; when you do so; in this regard; on this occasion; some time during that period
disappearance; vanishing; loss; dying away; wearing off
mastery; learning through experience; realization; realisation; comprehension
another; different; something else
main cause; primary factor
convenient; handy; useful
about; roughly; generally; on the whole; completely; quite
to compare; to make a comparison (between); to compete (on); to measure (one's strength, ability, etc. against another's)
very close (to); within a stone's throw (of); a stone's throw away (from)
to shorten; to narrow; to close; to shrink
snake; serpent; large snake
magic sword; cursed sword
sword skills; swordsmanship
brilliance; luster; lustre; vividness; life
to chip; to nick; to break; to lack
one's own strength; one's own efforts; self-salvation
dull (e.g. a knife); blunt; thickheaded; obtuse; dull (sound, color, etc.); dim (light)
to hit a nerve; to go for the throat; to touch a sore spot
to rise; to go up; to enter (esp. from outdoors); to come in; to enter (a school); to advance to the next grade; to get out (of water)
although I say; although one might say; although called
high heels; high-heeled shoes
short; shortstop; short (circuit); short hair; short selling