long ago; once upon a time
grandfather; male senior-citizen; old man
grandmother; old woman; female senior citizen
hearer; listener; audience; interviewer; questioner
dramatization (e.g. of a novel); dramatisation; adaptation (for the stage or screen); embellishment (of the facts); exaggeration; dramatization
story; tale; narrative; account; fable; legend
tailoring; sewing; (special) preparation; teaching; training
after this; henceforth; henceforward; from now on
abrupt plot change; unexpected story development; story development from out of left field
United Kingdom; Britain; Great Britain
(medieval) knight; samurai on horseback
poor (quality, conditions, etc.); bad; inferior; poor-quality
be (that) as it may; having said that
to be unable to endure; to be unable to stand (something); to lose patience
repair; mending; fixing; servicing
miscellany (classification of Japanese poetry unrelated to the seasons or to love)
pleasant; agreeable; comfortable
(your) words; what you say; what you have said; a few words (of welcome, advice, etc.)
reservation; appointment; contract; subscription; programming (e.g. a device); setting (e.g. a timer)
to leave nothing undone; to give good service; to attend to everything; to be on someone's tracks (e.g. police); to catch up with; to close in on
guardhouse; detention barracks
it says ...; it reads ...; ... is written
military affairs; military service
blunder; fault; error; mistake; failure; disgrace
earthly paradise; Shangri-la
abstention; nonintervention; noninterference
to make a mistake; to commit an error; to commit a fault
occasionally; once in a while; now and then
to correct; to rectify; to reform; to straighten (one's posture, collar, etc.); to adjust
to take pride in; to pride oneself; to be proud of
tsk tsk; oh-oh; huh; what's that?
appearance; presence; attendance; surrender (e.g. to the police); turning oneself in
hello (e.g. on phone); excuse me! (when calling out to someone)
to get worse; to deteriorate; to go from bad to worse; to spoil (of food); to go bad; to perish
yourself; himself; herself
to trail (of smoke, clouds, etc.); to hang (of mist, haze, etc.); to lie (over); to linger; to flow (e.g. of hair in the wind)
large hole; big deficit; heavy losses; long-shot win (in horse racing, etc.); big winnings (on a long shot)
to give off sparks; to spark; to have a heated argument; to fight fiercely
being settled quickly; reaching a quick conclusion; no need to say any more; no problem
return to base (of soldiers, military aircraft, warships, etc.)
return (home); repatriation; feedback (in an electronic circuit, biological system, etc.)