cartoon-character costume
shadow picture; silhouette; shadowgraph
party-internal; within the party
to degenerate; to lapse into
history of; experience of
to cut deep into; to cut one's way into (an enemy position); to rush on; to press someone hard (e.g. with questions); to get to the heart of (a matter)
fairness; impartiality; justice; objectivity
the right person in the right place
form (as opposed to substance); formality; method; system; format; mode
even so (expressing frustration, etc.); still
judging; inspection; examination; investigation; review
preconception; preconceived notion; prejudice
princess; spoiled girl; hothouse flower; glue
to pick out; to single out; to select; to extract; to draw out; to pull out
having no idea what will happen; God only knows; there is no knowing; you never can tell
candidate; contender; prospect; candidacy; candidature; nomination
naming; nominating; designating; calling on; asking for; requesting
Kaga (former province located in the south of present-day Ishikawa Prefecture)
to demarcate; to delimit; to divide (an area); to punctuate; to put an end to (e.g. a sentence); to insert pauses or breaks (e.g. when reading aloud)
without; unacceptable; not alright; unsatisfactory
blighted love; disappointed love
elegant; graceful; refined; leisurely; comfortable; easy
sentiment; emotions; one's feelings; one's heart
expressing one's mind; speaking out
to catch one's breath; to gulp; to have one's breath taken away; to gasp
remaining bony parts (of a fish after filleting); flaw (esp. of a person); fault; rice chaff; rough; crude
blameless; above reproach; beyond reproach; faultless; perfect
experienced person; person who has had a particular experience
senior; elder; person older than oneself
to guess; to sense; to presume; to sympathize with; to sympathise with
feigned innocence or naivete; beguiling innocence; wolf in sheep's clothing
fresh off the farm; inexperienced
competitive spirit; spirit of rivalry
wicked person; evil person; scoundrel; bad thing; mischief
poor; pitiable; pathetic; pitiful
to become one tile away from completion; to be at one's wits' end; to be about to blow one's fuse
don't worry about it; never mind; that's OK