Vocabulary

misery; distress

extraordinary; preposterous; outrageous; absurd

to go too far

to go too far; to go to excess

to astonish; to astound; to stupefy; to flabbergast; to strike a person dumb; to dumbfound

locals; natives

to boil with rage; to be infuriated

Doll's Festival (March 3); Peach Festival

it is darkest under the lamp post; it's hard to see what is under your nose; go abroad to hear of home; you must go into the country to hear what news at London

aimless

as we would say nowadays

insane; crazy; nuts; out of one's mind

to butt heads; to head-butt

to get angry; to get mad; to lose one's temper; to fly into a rage; to blow one's top

to be concerned about

to rack one's brains

to cool down one's anger

burying one's head in the sand (while leaving other parts of one's body exposed); exposing one's weak point while attempting to protect oneself; hiding one's head without hiding one's bottom

to distinguish oneself; to stand out

working right on through

fellow sufferers pity each other

to become an expert; to be master at

having a long body; long-bodied

immoral

illicit love affair

to pass the peak (of something); to get through the most difficult part; to be over the worst (e.g. an illness)

strange; unfamiliar; mysterious; suspicious

virtuous; respectable

nothing in particular; none in particular

worthy of special mention

to spin a top

to be ingenious

to have a talented child despite being untalented; a black hen lays a white egg; a kite gives birth to a hawk

casting pearls before swine

fish large enough to swallow a whole boat; colossal fish

Namu Amida Butsu; Hail Amitabha Buddha; Homage to Amida Buddha

Glory to the Sutra; Hail Lotus Sutra

to be a problem

to be at a loss for words; to be speechless; to be dumbfounded; to be struck dumb

to hesitate; to think twice; to flinch; to get cold feet