stealthily; secretly; in secret
you must be kidding; hey, come on!; surely not!
losing everything; coming to nothing; having lost the interest and the principal
to cram; to stuff; to jam; to squeeze; to compress; to pack
always; without exception; necessarily; certainly; without fail; positively
leaving behind; desertion; abandonment
secret; private; surreptitious
jaw; chin; barb (of a fishhook)
serious; earnest; real sword (as opposed to a wooden practice weapon)
by all means; at any cost; whether (one is) willing or not; willingly or unwillingly; on no account; by no means
to disappear (of people or animals); to go (away); to leave; to no longer exist
direct; immediate; personal; firsthand
to talk; to speak; to tell; to explain; to speak (a language)
news (from someone); word; letter; tidings; contact
to arrive (at one's destination); to reach; to come to a head; to reach a conclusion; to culminate (in)
to give directions; to issue instructions
no good; not serving its purpose; hopeless; wasted; cannot; must not
to decide to; to pretend that; to make a practice of doing; to make it a rule to
to feel around for; to fumble for; to investigate; to probe into; to explore (parts unknown); to enjoy (natural beauty)
to find out; to discover; to locate
more or less; though not quite satisfactorily; tentatively; for the time being; just in case; once
in one's own way or style
repeated at intervals; every other (day, week, month, ...)
to search about for; to hunt around for; to look high and low for; to look everywhere for
business district; shopping district; bustling street; shopping centre; shopping center; downtown
to catch; to stop the blow; to react to; to take (advice, etc.); to accept
principal occupation; main job; professional; an expert; I (of a government official, etc.); me
to attract attention; to come into the limelight
to disappear into; to be lost in; to do something under the cover of (confusion, etc.); to be almost indistinguishable; to be confusingly similar; to be diverted from (negative emotions, etc.)
to disappear; to vanish; to abscond; to decamp
to prick up one's ears and listen; to listen attentively
technical skill; ability; capacity
to be open (to traffic); to lead to; to flow (liquid, current); to pass; to be understood; to be comprehended; to be honored
technique; art; skill; move
surface; face (i.e. the visible side of an object); front (of a building, etc.); obverse side (i.e. "head") of a coin; outside; exterior; appearance
there is no need to ...; never happens; there is never a time when
to wait on someone hand and foot; to take personal care of someone
precise; accurate; appropriate; exactly the right
popular (among the general public); populist; plebian; low-brow; widely liked
ill-bred; vulgar; boorish