as if ...; as if to say ...; as though ...
readjustment; realignment
to shave (wood, leather, etc.); to sharpen (e.g. pencil); to cut down (budget, expenses, staff, time, etc.); to curtail; to delete; to erase
to detach; to decapitate; to cut loose; to let loose; to dismember
outward appearance; ostensible; public; official
primordial; fundamental; basic; primitive
there is no way that ...; easy; simple
lump of meat; piece of flesh; human body
unnatural or untimely (death)
last days; the end; one's fate
to torment; to torture; to harass
to cast a shadow; to appear; to loom (of a threat, etc.); to manifest (of symptoms, etc.)
sweet-smelling; fragrant; aromatic; good (reputation, condition, results, etc.); favorable
assignment (of a person to somewhere); attachment (of a person to another unit, organization, etc.)
halfway; half measures; unfinished; incomplete; by halves; half-baked
every day; daily; day after day; days (e.g. good old days)
proposal; offer; request; application
to reach a situation about which nothing can be done
top brass; upper echelon; higher-ups; top management; upper reaches; top of the pile
release (e.g. information); disclosure (legal); show; indication; display
investigation; examination; inquiry; enquiry; survey
cover (e.g. for illegal activity); front; Dendropanax trifidus (species of flowering plant); straw raincoat that makes one invisible
arrival in Japan; coming to Japan; visit to Japan
birth; lineage; identity; background; provenance; origin
to be perfectly clear (water, air, etc.); to clear up
dysfunction (often medical); malfunction; insufficiency
defective item; defective product; defective merchandise
the last moment; the very end
to be confused; to be flustered; to be at a loss
qualifications; requirements; capabilities
on the sea; surface of the sea
death; decease; (arch.) death penalty (by strangulation or decapitation); (an) out
to creep; to steal up; to draw near unnoticed