ancestor; forefather; originator; pioneer; grandfather
merger (of companies, towns, etc.); combination; union; amalgamation; consolidation; coalition
to be able to do; to be capable of doing
legal; from a legal standpoint; legally speaking; de jure
face; official stance; public position or attitude (as opposed to private thoughts); ceremony for the erection of the framework of a house
liking something; being partial to something; -phile
embezzlement; misappropriation; usurpation
unavoidable; inevitable; inescapable; hopeless; beyond help
branch; branch office; subdivision
spiced sake (served at New Year's)
advocate; defender; champion; backer
sense of beauty; aesthetic sense; attention to one's appearance; grooming-consciousness
to suck up; to absorb; to squeeze (money)
show tent; circus tent; freak show
ignorant of the ways of the world
thinly; slightly; vaguely; a little
confusion; complications; being gripped by strong feelings; fit (e.g. of anger); moment (e.g. of frustration)
binding; regulation; limit; binding period (e.g. phone or broadband contract); minimum contract term
kindness begets kindness; you scratch my back and I'll scratch yours; (lit.) if a fish is kind to the water, the water will be kind to the fish
calculating; sly; cunning; flirty; flirtatious
carbon fiber; carbon fibre
deadlock; standstill; stalemate; impasse; standoff
base (of operations); site; location; center; foothold; stronghold
under the control (of); under the dominion (of)
vulnerability; weakness; fragility; vulnerability; security hole
scattered; separated; dispersed
running aground; being stranded; grounding; beaching
transparency; degree of clearness
certain evidence; definite evidence
drawbridge; bascule bridge
to solicit; to demand; to extort
with all due respect; if I may make bold to ask