clear; precise; definite; distinct
to sink (into one's seat, etc.); to leap to one's death (by drowning); to be reduced to (esp. working as a prostitute)
some; few; somewhat; to a certain extent; (arch.) many; (arch.) a lot
vigilance; caution; alertness; precaution; being on guard
out of necessity; with no other option; perforce; unavoidably; reluctantly; unwillingly
to begin talking; to open up
genius; prodigy; natural gift
great; grand; magnificent; outstanding; mighty
nisei; second-generation Japanese (or Korean, etc.); the second (e.g. Edward II); son
newsworthiness; news hook; topicality; popularity (of a topic, issue, etc.)
going ahead; going first; preceding; coming before; scoring first; getting off to a lead
to catch up (with); to draw level; to pull even; to be compensated; to make up for one's losses
to look at from a biased viewpoint; to look at with a prejudiced eye
to make someone realize (e.g. their mistake); to bring (something) home to someone; to teach someone a lesson
ingredient; (raw) material; unprocessed timber; raw timber; subject matter; topic
dealt hand consisting of one 20-point card and six 1-point cards; outstanding; standing out above the rest
to have (something) innate; to be born with
potential; latent faculties; potential capacities
equal (in ability); even; evenly matched; well-matched; on par (with)
to compete with; to argue with; to quarrel
the other day; lately; recently
junior high school student; middle school pupil
steady; honest; sober; straightforward
et cetera; etc.; and the like; and so forth
absurd; foolish; stupid; silly; nonsense; ludicrous
tradition; legend; folklore
heat; fever; temperature; zeal; passion
to wear (sword, decoration, etc.); to carry; to be entrusted (e.g. with a mission); to take on; to have a trace of; to be tinged with
many; numerous; various; large number of
to raise (to maturity); to bring up; to rear; to train; to educate
to get someone to say; to make someone say
ability; gift; talent; sai; traditional unit of volume, approx. 1.8 ml
suddenly; abruptly; unexpectedly
materials; ingredients; material (for a novel, experiment, etc.); subject matter; grounds (for a decision, judgement, etc.); basis
path of righteousness; path of duty; right track; correct path
improper way (of doing); wrong way; unorthodox method; evil course; evil path; heresy
makings (of); aptitude; talent; nature; character; temperament
putting one's life on the line; staking one's life (on); risking one's life; life and death situation