how it came about; how it originated; how it happened; the origins of the imbroglio
bum; good-for-nothing; ne'er-do-well
to happen to hear; to overhear
professional gambler; gamester
to easily attain victory; to dupe; to swindle
fourth rank; fourth class; fourth sign of the Chinese calendar; Denmark
typical; representative; archetypal; quintessential; stereotypical; model
all at once (usu. of payment); at one go
banker (gambling); bookmaker; person who runs a gambling den; manager; boss
beautiful woman; (a) beauty; belle; good-looker
(financial) settlement; squaring accounts; liquidation; ending (a relationship); breaking up (with)
even and odd numbers (on dice); chō-han; gambling game in which two dice are thrown and players bet on whether the total is odd or even
duck; easy mark; sucker; sitting duck
proper; right; reasonable
to let (someone) have the credit (for); (lit.) to let (someone) hold the flowers
one's habitual practice; usual measure; old trick
to switch (secretly); to substitute; to replace; to sidestep (an issue)
mediation; good offices; influential person; person of influence; (arch.) eloquence; (arch.) eloquent person
wrapping (something) in a bamboo mat; wrapping someone in a bamboo mat and throwing them into a river (unofficial Edo-period punishment)
striped mullet (Mugil cephalus); flathead grey mullet; black mullet; redlip mullet (Chelon haematocheilus)
cancelling (a debt); forgiving (a debt); being even; forgetting (what was said or done); pretending (something never happened)
to praise extravagantly; to lionize; to lionise; to make much of
leading part; leading actor; leading actress
bride's silk floss headdress; clumps of snow (on tree branches, stones, etc.)
good match; suitable candidate (for marriage); good opportunity to be saved by Buddha
betterment; improvement; kaizen (Japanese business philosophy of continuous improvement)
crowd; community; group; herd; gathering; assembly
appearing in one's finest clothes; appearing in one's hour of triumph
in this way; along these lines; similarly
perversity; perverse person; antagonistic demon in Japanese folklore; demon under the feet of temple guardian statues
to put something on top of another thing; to superimpose
well bottom; narrow place
to begin falling (e.g. leaves, petals, etc.)
looking after a baby; taking care of a baby; babysitting; babysitter
attentively; with great attention to detail (e.g. when teaching); patiently
talking about memories; reminiscences
to misjudge; to mistake; to misjudge (someone); to overestimate; to miss seeing; to overlook