serious; severe; grave; acute
tremendous; immense; enormous; colossal; stupendous; huge
to poke fun at; to make fun of; to send up
to have a bad time; to go through a bitter experience; to get into trouble; to get hurt; to suffer
stickily; glutinously; persistently; insistently; tenaciously
pressure; urgency; tension; imminence; acuteness
to be moreish; to have a quality that encourages you to eat (drink) more of them after; to have lingering effects
putting one's life on the line; staking one's life (on); risking one's life; life and death situation
to expose to danger; to imperil; to jeopardize
line; stripe; line (e.g. telephone line); wire; ray (e.g. X-ray); beam; line (e.g. of a railroad)
to understand; to appreciate; to interpret
dramatic (improvement); remarkable (difference); marked; (far) better; exceptional
to ask (about); to inquire; to enquire; to question; to make sure of
to dry (clothes, etc.); to desiccate
Japanese persimmon (Diospyros kaki); Chinese persimmon; kaki
kakishibu; astringent persimmon juice used as a dye or to treat wood, paper, etc.
kaki; Japanese persimmon (Diospyros kaki)
shōchū; Japanese spirit distilled from sweet potatoes, rice, etc.
bag; sack; skin of an orange (and other like fruits); dead end; plot of land surrounded by water
fixed interval; fixed period
astringent; bitter; austere; elegant (and unobtrusive); sour (look); glum
yearned for; longed for; missed
to strike; to hit; to attack; to bash; to sound out (someone's views); to pound (meat or fish); to chop into small pieces
easy; simple; ready; casual; off-hand; easy-going
unusual; unconventional; mold-breaking; outside the box
to feel down; to feel sad; to be in a slump (business, economy, etc.); to be in an unfavourable condition; to fall into (e.g. a hole)
to encourage; to cheer on; to cheer (someone) up; to raise (one's voice)
change of pace; change of mood; (mental) break (e.g. going for a walk); refreshment
covered in mud; mud-caked
invincible; ever-victorious; unconquerable; unbeaten
to become weak; to decline; to wear; to abate; to decay; to wither
studying under; looking up to; apprenticing oneself to
to polish up; to shine up
to fit the mold; to fit the mould; to be standard; to be customary; to be unoriginal; to be stale