year; age; years; past one's prime; old age
so; therefore; accordingly; consequently; on those grounds; that is why
slowly; quietly; steadily; soon; momentarily; before long
genuine; real; full-scale; full-blown; full-fledged; professional
retirement (from the world); seclusion
preparation; arrangements; getting ready; provision; setup; reserving
may; might; perhaps; may be; possibly
idly; lazily; aimlessly; evasively; elusively; vaguely
to dodge; to evade; to avoid; to sidestep
(something) one does not really mean; insincere
to step back; to move back; to withdraw (from the presence of a superior); to leave; to resign; to retire
will; probably; may; I think; surely; I hope
desirable; hoped for; preferable; advisable
may; might; perhaps; may be; possibly
particle used to indicate the speaker's hope, desire, wish, etc. (e.g. "it would be nice if ...", "I wish there were ...", etc.); emphatic particle; particle adding uncertainty
probe each other; sound each other out
to be frank; to drop all pretense
terrible; dreadful; terrifying; surprising; startling; tremendous
to say; to speak; to tell; to talk
dull; uninteresting; insignificant; unimportant; absurd; foolish
reality; actuality; hard fact
shall ...; to assume; to suppose
to entrust (e.g. a task) to another; to leave to; to passively leave to someone else's facilities; to leave to take its natural course; to continue (something) in a natural fashion (without particular aim); to rely fully on one's (full strength, great ability, long time taken) to get something done
late in life; one's later years
to pollute; to contaminate; to soil; to disgrace; to dishonour; to dishonor
at the most; at best; to the utmost; as much as possible; as much as one can
attention; notice; care; caution; advice; warning
mutually; with each other; reciprocally; together
close (e.g. friend); familiar; familiar (e.g. story); well-known (to one); close (relatives); closely related
blade; sword; forged blade; wavy pattern on forged blades; sharpness; unhulled rice
to thrust before; to thrust at
sense of urgency; feeling of high tension
to exchange (messages, greetings, arguments, etc.); to intersect; to cross; ... with one another; ... to each other
to get (much) colder; to deepen (cold); to feel cold (of the body); to be chilled to the bones; to worsen (of relations, economic conditions, etc.)
one (esp. of two); the other; on the one hand; on the other hand; whereas; although
certain; some kind of; some sort of; of sorts
to step on (something) and break it
exceeding what one had heard; beyond one's expectations
style; manner; way; after (period of time) again (e.g. meeting again after a year); for the first time in (period of time)
I see; that's right; indeed
haughty; arrogant; insolent; proud; overbearing
criticism; judgement; judgment; comment