loser; failure; underdog; unmarried and childless older woman
as if; as it were; as though; right then; just then; at that moment
amiable; affable; likable
parched; dried-up; empty; hollow; rattling; clattering
fabrication; forgery; falsehood; hoax
soon; shortly; before long
to reach mutual understanding; to understand each other
snapping back (at someone) despite being in the wrong; getting mad back
to fall to one's knees; to go down on one's knees (e.g. to express respect)
fourth rank; fourth class; fourth sign of the Chinese calendar; Denmark
very unlikely to ...; showing no signs of ...
naginata; polearm with a curved single-edged blade (similar to a glaive); naginata; martial art of wielding the naginata
to allow (someone or something) to come near; to let get close
to become familiar with and cherish; to get to know and love
practice; experience; habituation; being used to; being comfortable with; being experienced in
correction (of a fault, defect, flaw, etc.); remedy; rectification; redress; reform; straightening (of teeth)
to grudge; to be stingy; to be unwilling to pay
member (esp. of a criminal organization); gang member; gangster; yakuza; crime syndicate member
outside a gate; beyond one's area of expertise
middle; center; heart; midst (e.g. of a storm); peak (e.g. of a season); (the) height (of something)
one breath; time of one breath; pause; break; (doing in) one go; doing without stopping
to brace one's core (e.g. when carrying something heavy); to bear down; to exert oneself; to push oneself; to pay generously (for); to splurge (on)
to praise highly; to sing the praises of; to applaud; to acclaim; to admire
tearfully; in tears; weeping; reluctantly; unwillingly; with a heavy heart
tip-off (to the authorities); information (on); anonymous report
to grumble; to gripe; to complain
to get out of hand; to become uncontrollable; to boil over
unity; union; solidarity; combination; banding together; teaming up
previous conviction; criminal record; previous offense; previous offence
proud; triumphant; boastful; self-satisfied
moral duty; moral obligations; justification; pretext; just cause
me, me, me; egotistic; ego-driven
player put on starting list to be replaced by another when the opponent's pitcher is known
admissibility of evidence; competence of evidence
after a short while; not long after; soon; before long; shortly thereafter
high-spec; highly competitive (on the dating scene, e.g. by having a high income, being good-looking); ticking all the boxes
boasting of one's strength
artificial object; man-made object; artifact; artefact