to brace oneself; to focus one's energies; to focus one's mind
trump; trump card; ace up one's sleeve; secret weapon
one's hand; name tag; nameplate; wallet-sized (photo)
poor; meagre; meager; feeble; scanty; shabby
(being) most satisfactory; (being) quite satisfied; (being) quite enough
descendant; progeny; offspring
man; male; fellow; guy; male lover; boyfriend
to raise; to rear; to train; to teach; to promote the growth of; to nurture
companion; follower; attendant; retinue
to give birth; to bear (child); to lay (eggs); to produce; to yield; to give rise to
background; scenery; background (of an incident, situation, etc.); circumstances; backing; support (from behind the scenes)
adopted child (usu. male); son-in-law
blood relationship; consanguinity; blood relative
regarding as important; attaching importance to; taking a serious view of; putting emphasis on
tearing up and discarding (e.g. documents); destruction; annulment; cancellation; reversal (of an original ruling on appeal); quashing
sorrow; grief; anguish; anxiety; worry; trouble
concealment; hiding; ambush; incubation; latency; dormancy
present condition; existing state; status quo; current state
to come to realize; to become aware (of)
in order to; for the purpose of; must; should
as expected; as predicted
leaving behind; desertion; abandonment
slightly early; just before
castle (in place names); castle; fortress
imitation; copy; make-believe; doing something in a way that only superficially resembles the real thing
indifferently; paying no attention (to); taking no notice (of)
firmly; solidly; sturdily; strongly; toughly
unheard-of; unprecedented; unparalleled in history (unparallelled); record-breaking
audience (with a superior, e.g. nobility)
enshrinement (of a deity); residing (in a shrine or sacred place); sitting prominently (in a place); being plunked down; being planted (in a spot)
to settle down (and deal with something); to concentrate all one's energy (on something); to settle oneself (in a place); to settle down (somewhere); to take a solid stance; to lower one's center of gravity (centre)
the vertical; height; front-to-back; length; north-to-south; vertical (relationship)
to fall to one's knees; to go down on one's knees (e.g. to express respect)
father; father (e.g. of a discipline); pioneer (e.g. of field of research); God; Father
preface; foreword; introduction; beginning; start
to steal; to rob; to take away
foothold; footing; toehold; stepping stone
(political) power; authority; influence
chaos; turmoil; pandemonium; havoc
(in) the middle of; (in) the midst of; (in) the course of; (at) the height of
breaking off an engagement
formation; establishment; conclusion (e.g. of a deal); reaching (e.g. an agreement); being valid (of a theory, argument, etc.); holding
to swing one's arms greatly while walking; to act freely; to be brazen
that; the matter in question