knee; lap; knee and thigh (while sitting)
reading partway; leaving half-read
suspicious-looking; fishy
to sit down; to take a seat
to order; to send away for; to have (something) sent to one; to pull (something) closer
start of a war; beginning of hostilities
superiority; predominance
now advancing and now retreating; ebb and flow; seesawing; taking alternately favorable and unfavorable turns
famine; crop failure; chronic shortage (e.g. of water)
fighting with one's back to the wall; having burnt one's bridges; last stand; last-ditch effort
(not) well; (not) properly; (not) enough; (not) sufficiently; (not) satisfactorily; (not) decently
weakness; debility; breakdown; prostration
accidental; incidental; occasional; casual
pressure; urgency; tension; imminence; acuteness
steady; honest; sober; straightforward; reliable
poverty; penury; need; shortage; lack; want
starvation; famine; hunger
to arise; to break out; to well up; to burst
to put up with; to endure; to bear patiently
accumulation; accumulate; store
large river; epic (of a novel, drama, etc.); long-form; large-scale
to repaint; to paint again; to paint (a different colour); to change completely; to break (a record); to redraw (e.g. the map)
breaking down; defeating; abolishing
wild enthusiasm; being crazy about
burst (e.g. dam, embankment, levee); breach; collapse; washout; rupture
river; stream; River; the ... river
atrocious; heinous; fiendish; brutal; vicious
to swallow; to gulp down; to understand; to grasp; to engulf; to swallow up
to go astray; to become corrupt; to go bad
requisition; requisitioning; seizure; confiscation; impounding; retaining (e.g. deposit)
nuisance money; money paid to make up for inconvenience caused
to waive one's right; to waive a right
to look at again; to re-examine (policy, estimate, plan, etc.); to review; to get a better opinion of; to see in a more positive light; to improve
of late; lately; this part; this point; here
alarm bell; fire bell; warning; wake-up call
self-proclaimed; self-professed; professing oneself to be; calling oneself; first person
agreement; stipulation; contract
I'm sorry; my apologies; may I come in?; permission; leave; dismissal
omen; sign; notice; indication