to spoil someone's start; to kill someone's enthusiasm; to take the wind out of someone's sails
match; game; bout; contest
nine times; twisting around many times
first base; first baseman; one fort
change; changing; exchange (e.g. of goods); change of sides (in baseball, American football, etc.); switching ends (in tennis, volleyball, etc.)
indigestion; dyspepsia; inability to understand; lacking comprehension; half-baked knowledge
dejectedly; sorrowfully; crestfallen
sigh (of admiration or lamentation)
with a pat; with a tap; with a pop; with a crack; casually (throw); carelessly
vigorously; at a great pace; greatly
batter's box; one's turn at bat
breakup (of a ceremony, wedding, party, meeting, etc.); closure
mere shadow of one's former self; having no trace left (of former glories, talent, looks, etc.); unrecognizable (as the person one used to be); unrecognisable
full of energy; full of liveliness; full of pep
recent state; present state; present condition; current status; current circumstances
inexcusable; unpardonable; can't be allowed to pass (without comment)
person in line (for ...); person expected to ...
information session; briefing; explanatory meeting
bolt from the blue; great surprise
that is to say; so that means
speech; tongue; dialect; brogue; bento; Japanese box lunch; petal
point of view; viewpoint; standpoint; perspective; angle
judging from; on the basis of; from the point of view of
public commitment; public promise; campaign pledge; official vow
tenacious; persistent; stubborn; vindictive; spiteful; vengeful
to mind (negative nuance); to care about; to worry; to pay undue (amount of) attention to (something)
to recommend; to endorse (e.g. a candidate); to infer (from); to deduce; to think (something) through; to ponder deeply
to work on (someone); to appeal to; to make approaches to; to begin to work
meeting; assembly; association; conjunction
gathering material (for an article, novel, etc.); collecting information; covering (an event, incident, etc.); reporting; interview (for a news story)
to flip-flop; to do an about-face; (lit.) to flip over one's hand; to do something easy
engagingly; cordially; amiably; sociably; hospitably
back and front; inside and outside; inside out (e.g. clothing); double-dealing; two faces (cf. two-faced); outward appearance and actual condition
though imperfect; somehow; somehow or other
having serious consequences; costing dearly; cannot get away with it; for free; for nothing; easily
Chinese "Three Stars" constellation (one of the 28 mansions)
suddenly; casually; accidentally; incidentally; unexpectedly; unintentionally
tenacious; tough; enduring; dogged; headstrong; stubborn
impudence; shamelessness; brazenness; brazen person; shameless person; impudent person