I would rather; I would as lief do; strong preference
monitoring; watching; observation; surveillance; guarding; supervision
dozens; scores of; decades
inundating a castle; flooding a castle; cutting off a castle's water supply
sunbathing; basking in the sun
just like; exactly like; as if; (do) just like ...; (be) virtually like ...; as if it were ...
moving slowly (and dull-wittedly)
to rise into importance; to gain strength; (lit.) to raise one's head
holding a castle (during a siege); holing up; confinement (to one's home); staying at home; staying indoors
mainly; chiefly; primarily; for the most part
plan; measure; means; scheme; policy
piece; slice; cloth; sharpness; agility; counter for scraps, pieces, etc.
to hesitate to say; to hem and haw; to falter in one's speech; to be stuck for a word; to mumble
reinforcement (e.g. of troops)
to gush forth (e.g. water from a spring); to flow (out); to well up (of tears, emotions, etc.); to flow out (of tears); to emerge; to suddenly appear
chill; the shivers; shivering fit
to ignite; to set fire to; to spark (an incident, etc.); to inflame (a situation, etc.)
assertion; declaration; affirmation
to rot; to decay; to die in obscurity; to be forgotten with time
foundation; base; basis; from the beginning; from the outset; by nature
hastily constructed; hastily built; made in a hurry; jerry-built; makeshift
construction; architecture (of buildings)
round-up (e.g. of criminals); wholesale arrest; catching the whole herd with one throw
in hand; on hand; on one; handheld
misunderstanding; mistaken idea; wrong guess
attack; assault; criticism; censure; cyber attack (e.g. DDoS)
(not) very; (not) so; (not) very much; (not) particularly; (not) especially
flat broke; stone broke; penniless
to creep in; to steal in; to sneak in
fair attack; fair tactics; straightforward approach; standard procedure; established method
princess; spoiled girl; hothouse flower; glue
big snake; (large) serpent
what kind of; what sort of; what; no matter what (kind of); whatever; any
proverb; saying; aphorism; maxim
to make use of aizuchi; to back-channel; to throw in interjections to show that one is paying attention
several times; a few times; several degrees; a few degrees
to hurt; to injure; to harm; to damage; to worry; to bother
manners; etiquette; propriety; manner of production (esp. of prose, poetry, etc.); way of making
in the same way; like; likewise; similarly