a few years ago; some years back
refugee; displaced person; person inconvenienced by (lack of something); person unable to satisfactorily (marry, shop, etc.)
narrow; tight; formal; stiff; constrained; uncomfortable
close adhesion; sticking firmly to; relating closely to; having relevance to; contact printing
to profit; to benefit from; to take advantage of; to make good use of
here and there; in twos and threes; sporadically; now and then; from time to time; occasionally
night flight (without paying); skipping out by night; moonlight flit
denotes uncertainty; such things as A and B; A and B and so on; A and B and the like
fate; destiny; predestination
to drift (to); to be washed ashore
to get information out of a person; to begin listening
conscription; (military) draft; (compulsory) enlistment
going through; going via; going by way of
good-for-nothing; worthless
hard (life); tough (world)
preface; introduction; lead in (to a joke, question, etc.); lead up; payment in advance (by bank transfer); swinging (one's body) forward
from here; from this place
main question; real issue at hand
to read; to recite (e.g. a sutra); to chant; to predict; to guess; to decipher; to count
to take in one's hand; to pick up; to obtain
astonishing; amazing; surprising; wonderful
new; neo-; newness; novelty; Gregorian calendar; Xin dynasty (China, 9-23 CE)
rule; reign; peaceful times
insurrection; mutiny; rebellion; revolt; uprising
exceedingly; extremely; decisively
in spite of; regardless of
(smelling) strongly; pungently; furiously; indignantly; fuming
assertion; declaration; affirmation
walking sideways; staggering; striding; being rampant; being widespread; being prevalent
speech; tongue; dialect; brogue; bento; Japanese box lunch; petal
letter; missive; note; mail
murmur; mutter; murmuring; tweet; Twitter post
potentiality; likelihood; possibility; availability
to wager; to bet; to risk; to stake; to gamble
designation; specification; assignment; appointment; pointing at
truth or falsehood; genuineness; authenticity; veracity
in 8 or 9 cases out of ten; in all probability
erratic; offbeat; wild; extraordinary