keeping an alternative up one's sleeve; two-stage preparation
it does not mean that ...; I don't mean that ...; it is not the case that
old; former; the old; old things; old times; bygone days
friend; companion; comrade; accompaniment; companion (e.g. book); complement
marriage ceremony; wedding; nuptials
unexpectedly; surprisingly
notice; notification; report; posting
reception (e.g. wedding); banquet; celebration; party
one person; being alone; being by oneself; being single; being unmarried; by oneself
without permission; without notice
good; goodness; right; virtue
time to pay the piper; (lit.) time to pay the land tax (in kind)
outskirts (of a town); run-down district
creeping about; stirring restlessly; squirming
to have a meal; to eat; to make a living; to earn one's bread
electricity; (electric) light
miserable; wretched; lonely; dreary; shabby; comfortless
to settle down; to get a steady job; to marry and raise a family; to attire oneself; to outfit oneself
sensitivity; susceptibility
griot; jeli; West African bard
ray of hope; glimmer of hope
conception; idea; thought; samjna (perception)
naked; bare; uncovered; frank; open; blunt
great hurry; great haste; rush
outline; main points; generally; on the whole; general; rough
close-cropped head; bald hill
barber; barbershop; barber shop
to cut (grass, hair, etc.); to mow; to clip; to trim; to prune; to shear
to use tact; to exercise discretion; to be tactful; to be thoughtful; to have the sense (to do); to take a hint
to cover (with something); to put on (e.g. on someone else's head); to plate something (with a metal); to pour or dash a liquid (on something); to charge (a person with a guilt)
tonsure; shaving one's head (upon entering the Buddhist priesthood)
to shoot (arrow, bolt, dart)
to burst open; to split open; to be bursting with (e.g. youth, laughter, flavor); to bounce; to bound
wisdom; intelligence; intellect
to gouge; to hollow out; to greatly perturb; to cause emotional pain; to get to the bottom of things; to relentlessly bring the truth to light
good-for-nothing; spineless; gutless; spiritless; feckless; pluckless
unexpected; unforeseen; accidental
looking up (e.g. a word in a dictionary); retrieval (e.g. data); searching for; referring to
U-turn; returning home (after a vacation); returning to one's (rural) hometown (after having lived in a big city)