retort; sealed plastic pouch typically containing ready-made sauce or stew; boil-in-the-bag; retort; glass vessel used for distillation (now largely obs.)
holding a castle (during a siege); holing up; confinement (to one's home); staying at home; staying indoors
when push comes to shove; when needed; when necessity arises; when the moment arrives
bamboo grass; generally smaller species of running bamboo that do not shed their sheaths (e.g. Sasa spp.)
to walk about; to walk around; to conduct oneself; to turn up; to brawl (in a play, etc.)
present point (i.e. in history); at the present time
sudden turn; sudden change; (suddenly occurring) accident; emergency
trigger (of a gun, etc.); trigger (for something); immediate cause
to break a dam; to burst out
indeed; really; absolutely; truly; actually; very
companions; friends; comrades; mates; partners
source; origin; cause; beginning; genesis
to profit; to benefit from; to take advantage of; to make good use of
to succeed; to relieve; to take the place of; to substitute for; to be exchanged; to change (places with)
up and down, left and right; top and bottom, left and right
using as an intermediary; through
domino (game); dominoes; domino effect
supporting role (actor); minor role
large hole; big deficit; heavy losses; long-shot win (in horse racing, etc.); big winnings (on a long shot)
cannibalism (in animals); feeding on each other; mutually harmful competition; internecine struggle; dog-eat-dog competition
random; by chance; haphazard; hit-or-miss; unplanned
not worth considering; out of the question
comparatively; relatively
instability; insecurity; crankiness
management; administration; operation
equal; equivalent; equals sign; equality sign; equals (as in "A equals B")
national isolation; closing the country (to foreigners); sakoku; policy of national isolation enacted by the Tokugawa shogunate
global scale; worldwide scale
occupying; having (an area) all to oneself; military occupation; possession; capture
defense; defence; safeguard; protection
duck; easy mark; sucker; sitting duck
level ground; plain; flatland