mediation; good offices; go-between; building a bridge
to explain away (a mistake, failure, etc.); to make excuses for; to gloss over; to talk one's way out of
formal; proper; prescribed; conventional; stereotypical
junior high school student; middle school pupil
senior high school student
position; job; employment; opening
I wish I had ...; I should have ...; it would have been better if I had ...
fetters; shackles; hobbles; encumbrance; hindrance; burden
supporter; sponsor; patron; backer
marriage (of a woman); marrying into a husband's family; becoming a bride; wedding; wedding ceremony
marriage proposal; marriage talks
all over the country; everywhere in the country; throughout the nation
helping a long-term employee to establish a branch of the same shop
chain store; retail chain; restaurant chain
number two; mistress; concubine
to save up; to stockpile; to stash away; to hoard; to amass; to salt away
when push comes to shove; when needed; when necessity arises; when the moment arrives
elite; best; pick; cream of the crop
to be interested in; to take an interest in; to care about
distant place; faraway location; far away
grandfather; old man; kyogen mask used for the role of an old man
to talk (someone) down; to argue down; to silence; to put (someone) in their place; to corner in an argument; to get the better of
one's speciality; one's forte; one's strong point
candidacy; standing as a candidate; bidding (to host an event, e.g. the Olympics)
unskilled; not very good at
change in pronunciation or meaning of a word; sound change; word with an altered pronunciation or meaning; turning or twisting part of a text (in Chinese poetry)
in order; sequential; seriatim
to look dead on the inside; to have a blank expression
how should I know?; don't ask me
to regard (as); to recognize (as); to see as; to pay attention to; to watch
news of someone's death; obituary
indolence; laziness; sloth
to content oneself with; to be resigned to (one's fate); to be contented (satisfied) with (one's lot)
stabbing (repeatedly); piercing; (words) cutting to the heart; striking home; loose; sloppy
to gouge; to hollow out; to greatly perturb; to cause emotional pain; to get to the bottom of things; to relentlessly bring the truth to light
small pieces; fragments; chopped meat; scraps (of beef, pork, etc.)
persecution complex; delusion of persecution; paranoia
strong opposition; vehement opposition
to become animated; to liven up; to become active
to make a cynical remark (about); to make a sarcastic remark (about); to satirize; to mock
to raise an objection; to voice an opinion different from those of others
dull; uninteresting; insignificant; unimportant; absurd; foolish