being a graduate of the same school; person who went to the same school; fellow alumnus
old friend; old acquaintance
senior (at work or school); superior; elder; older graduate; progenitor; old-timer
junior (at work, school, etc.); younger people; younger student
lodging; inn; house; home; home of a servant's parents (or guarantor, etc.)
grandmother; old woman; female senior citizen
bachelor's life; life of a bachelor
early morning; early hours; early in the morning
I don't know for certain, but ...; I don't know if that's the reason, but ...
upstart; nouveau riche; new money; piece promoted to gold general
to go through; to pass through; to get through; to cut across
to chip; to nick; to break; to lack
close call; narrow margin; the eleventh hour
birth date; date of birth; DOB
clipping (of newspaper article, etc.); cutting; scrap (for a scrapbook); cut-out (picture, coloured paper, etc.)
illegitimate child; bastard; love child
to be in the news; to be talked about; to become a popular topic of conversation; to become the talk of the town; to become topical
material (for a story, article, etc.); information; joke; jest; proof; evidence; (magician's) trick
to harvest; to reap; to take in; to gather in; to adopt (e.g. idea); to accept (e.g. advice)
with profound (often hidden) meaning; pregnant with significance; meaningful; suggestive; interesting
another; different; separate; discrete
December; twelfth month of the lunar calendar
(former) imperial university
antecedents; ancestor; previous position; previous existence; predecessor organization; predecessor organisation
to let slip a secret; to let the cat out of the bag
permanence; immortality; eternity
saying; maxim; aphorism; proverb
blackmail; extortion; racketeering; blackmailer; extortionist
silence; being silent; quiet; reticence; inaction
valley floor; bottom of a gorge; bottom of a ravine
to be touching; to be moving