early; a little earlier than usual; a little faster than usual; slightly quicker
mediocre; ordinary; commonplace; banal
to anticipate; to expect; to place confidence in; to put trust in; to find promising; to see good prospects (in)
to go back to the start; to reset; to restore; to return to the point (of a discussion); to return something (that has been moved) to previous place; to reconstitute
function; facility; faculty; feature
to lose; to miss (a chance, opportunity); to lose (a loved one); to be bereaved of; to concede (goals, points, etc.)
together; jointly; at the same time; with; both
possible; conceivable; likely; probable
to be embarrassed; to lose face
to get carried away; to get overly elated; to become over-excited; to get up to speed; to move into gear
to contain; to comprise; to hold in the mouth; to bear in mind; to understand; to express (emotion, etc.)
effort; initiative; dealing with; bout (in sports, etc.); match
to take in; to gather in; to adopt (e.g. an idea); to accept (e.g. advice); to harvest; to reap
little by little; bit by bit
to be led by; to be headed by
to be better (than); to be superior; to surpass; to excel; to be excellent
finally; in the end; at last; in the end; after all; never (happened)
flow (of a fluid or gas); stream; flow (of people, things); passage (of time); course (of events); (step-by-step) procedure; group of people who remain together after the end of an event
pride; self-confidence; thinking highly of oneself; being proud of one's abilities or achievements
way (of doing); manner; method; means
to creep up; to crawl up; to overcome (a bad situation); to rise (after a setback)
self-deprecation; self-derision; self-mockery; laughing at oneself
rushing into; breaking into; storming; plunging into (war, etc.); embarking on (a new venture)
to all appearances; no matter how you look at it
to reward; to recompense; to repay; to retaliate; to get revenge
top and bottom; high and low; going up and down; rising and falling; going and coming back; upper and lower classes; ruler and ruled
to shake; to jolt; to shake (e.g. the political world); to disturb; to put off a batter (by varying one's type of pitch)
Herculean task; next-to-impossible undertaking
two times; twice; two degrees
to be sticky; to be adhesive; to persevere; to persist; to stick to
obvious; clear; plain; evident; apparent; explicit
vigilance; caution; alertness; precaution; being on guard
to turn away (one's eyes, face, etc.); to avert; to displease; to annoy; to miss (the target, ball, etc.)
ability; competency; talent; skill; capacity
severe; harsh; stringent; rigorous; strict; unfair
making first base after an uncaught third strike
special; particular; peculiar; unique
just to make sure; just to be sure; for confirmation; just in case; for caution's sake; by way of precaution
fault; defect; flaw; failure (in an examination); failing grade
weapon; arms; ordnance; weapon (something used to gain an advantage); asset
which; where; all; both; anyway; anyhow
to thrust at someone (e.g. a weapon); to point (a gun, knife, etc.) at; to hold up threateningly to (someone's face); to present forcefully (demand, document, etc.); to confront someone with (evidence, facts, etc.); to force upon