question; inquiry; enquiry
self-deprecation; self-derision; self-mockery; laughing at oneself
bitter smile; wry smile; strained laugh; sarcastic laugh
judgment; judgement; divination; judgement
difficult to ...; hard to ...
to hang one's head; to look down; to cast one's eyes downward
to take out; to get out; to put out; to reveal; to submit (e.g. thesis); to turn in; to publish
embarrassing; embarrassed; ashamed; disgraceful; shameful
ah!; oh!; yes; indeed; aah; gah
to speak; to say; to vocalize
few; a little; scarce; insufficient; seldom
indicates word or phrase being defined; used for quoting (thoughts, speech, etc.); with; (not) as much as; (not) so much as; the fact that
how others look at you; what others think about you
to collect; to assemble; to gather
to hate; to dislike; to loathe
plain; simple; reserved (behaviour, attitude, etc.); modest; quite; a (little) bit
audience (with a person of high standing); eye-level
shy; bashful; timid; reserved
shyness; fear of strangers; stranger anxiety
in general; generally; mostly; gist; point; main idea
correct; right; correct interpretation (answer, solution)
such ... as; or some such
number one; first; best; most; game; round
close (e.g. in terms of relationship); intimate
immediately; right away; at once; instantly
to pull oneself together; to collect oneself (after a failure); to regain control (of oneself)
now that you mention it; come to think of it; that reminds me; on that subject; speaking of which
what; you-know-what; that thing; whatsit; whachamacallit; (not) at all; (not) in the slightest
today; this day; these days; recently; nowadays
together; at the same time; same; identical
is not; am not; are not; isn't it?
-like; sort of; similar to; resembling
is something wrong?; what's wrong?; what's the matter?; slightest; mere; trivial
considerable; great; important; significant; a big deal
it is not (like that) either
indifferent; half-hearted; dispirited; listless
one's line of sight; one's gaze; one's eyes (looking); glance; gaze; look
worry; concern; anxiety; care; help; aid
to get cloudy; to cloud over; to cloud up; to fog up; to be gloomy; to be clouded (expression)
perhaps; possibly; maybe; if; in case; in the event that
physical condition; state of health
to destroy; to demolish; to disturb; to put into disorder; to relax (one's pose); to make oneself at ease; to break (a bill)
recently; lately; these days; nearest; closest