mostly; nearly; practically; well-nigh; almost invariably; all but
office worker; company employee; company man; salaryman (stereotypical Japanese office worker)
service industry; service sector
to take (seat, position, course, office, etc.); to assume; to ascend (the throne); to accede; to start (on a journey); to commence
true state; actual condition; reality
certainly; of course; even if; no matter (who, what, when, where, why, how); without even; without so much as; at the (least, earliest, etc.)
to be very far apart from; to be remote; to be quite different from
to change; to alter; to transform; to reform; to revise; to amend
with the exception of; excepting; excluding
standard; basis; criterion; norm; reference; datum
how many times; how many degrees (temperature, angle, etc.)
study; research; investigation
professional job; profession
target; object (of worship, study, etc.); subject (of taxation, etc.)
binding; regulation; limit; binding period (e.g. phone or broadband contract); minimum contract term
to lose (something); to mislay; to get rid of; to eliminate; to remove
valuation; appraisal; evaluation; appreciation; recognition; acknowledgement
to decide; to choose; to clinch (a victory); to decide (the outcome of a match); to persist in doing; to go through with; to always do
useless; no future in it; doesn't make sense; having no point
(a) principle; (a) reason; (a) point; some truth
death; rejection (of a manuscript, etc.); lacking; without
(cutting) with a single stroke; lopping off (branches, etc.); (cutting hair) short; drastically (slash a budget, etc.); resolutely; ruthlessly (discard, etc.)
hand used like a sword in striking
to fly through the air; to hurtle through the air; to strike at something and miss; to fan the air
nervous temperament; worrier's disposition
cut; cutting; haircut; shuffle (cards); shuffling; scene
trembling with fear; filled with trepidation
world; society; life; lifetime; age; era; reign
in name but not in reality
to change into; to convert into; to transform; to be reduced; to influence; to improve (someone)
leaving as is; leaving alone; leaving to chance; neglecting; abandoning
happiness; good fortune; luck; blessing
specialist; expert; professional; authority; pundit
miserable; disconsolate; helpless; cheerless; downhearted; dreary
reality; actuality; hard fact
excess; surplus; superabundance; overabundance
to create; to bring forth; to invent; to think up and bring into being; to give birth to; to bear
to arrive (at one's destination); to reach; to come to a head; to reach a conclusion; to culminate (in)
point; tip; head (of a line); front; first; before; (the way) ahead
chattering (teeth); (frozen, worried) stiff; rigid (personality, thinking, etc.); inflexible; voracious (e.g. work, study); without slack or pause
or; either ... or; maybe; perhaps; some ... and others ...; sometimes ... and at other times ...
extremely; in the extreme; knows no bounds (e.g. rudeness); boundless (e.g. universe, ocean); limitless