Vocabulary

to instigate; to incite; to spur on; to set (e.g. a dog after someone)

gaudy; showy; garish; loud

to present; to offer; to dedicate

curt; blunt; brusque

to decrease; to be reduced; to grow less; to abate

such

thus; in this way

neat (neatly); tidy; trim

to aggravate; to complicate; to make worse

to scrape off; to shave off

nodding (in agreement, with approval, etc.)

niddle-noddle; nid-nod; nodding off

to nod in agreement; to nod in assent

thickly; heavily; richly

(really) terrible; awful; (very) nasty; (extremely) harsh; severe

to be digested

in this manner; in this way; like this

best; perfect; superb

to this extent; to this degree; this much; this little

before now; hitherto

well-cooked; well-done; browned

in this way; like this

thickly; densely; luxuriantly

nice to see you; good morning; good evening

scrubbing hard; scrubbing clean

squalid; messy

chirp; twitter; warble

to face (a situation); to encounter; to be confronted with

certainly; surely

and also; and on top of that; besides

otherwise; or else; if not

worthless; insignificant; unimportant; trivial

a lot; loads; plenty

for a short while; for a brief period; soon; in a short while

in the end; finally; after all; ultimately

to be stingy; to be tightfisted

to squat; to crouch down (completely, generally with face looking through knees)

to cast a sharp glance

glancing (look)

(growing) quickly (esp. children, plants); (developing) quickly; fast; rapidly