Vocabulary

fell; dropped

omniscient point of view (in narration)

to crack (person's voice); to squeak

bark (of tree)

to happen to hear; to overhear

to feel refreshed; to feel soothed

(lesson in) tough love

to check (in chess)

to become exaggerated (of rumours, etc.); to become embellished

he has not lived that lives not after death; the great use of life is to spend it for something that will outlast it; tigers leave their hide when they die; men leave their name

you must lose a fly to catch a trout; sometimes the best gain is to lose

things to do; must-do items; one's duty; what is required

to look the other way; to hush up a problem

to be among the top five; to be one of the five best

with great relief; as if meeting a friend in need; as if having met a Buddha in hell

to be contrary

if you can't beat them; join them; you can't fight city hall; if your adversaries are stronger than you, it is better to join their side than to fight them

if you can't beat them; join them; you can't fight city hall; if your adversaries are stronger than you, it is better to join their side than to fight them

every person has their eccentricities

to wind (e.g. a watch)

to be blown inside out (of an umbrella); to become (the shape of) a sake cup

both eloquent and skilled

doing or receiving something good by accident or through the invitation of someone else; being pulled to the Zenkoji temple by a cow

if you are hungry, where you eat doesn't matter; manjū in the toilet

content is the philosopher's stone, that turns all it touches into gold

the word of a wise man is worth the words of one thousand fools; one thousand chirps of sparrows, one cry of a crane

great men have eccentricities; fine horses have quirks

things cannot be larger than the things that contain them; there are no boars larger than the mountain (in which they live)

old soldiers never die; they just fade away

words betray one's character

he who knows, does not speak; he who speaks, does not know; those who know do not talk; those who talk do not know

all the same

don't eat plum pits (because they are poisonous); if you eat a plum, don't eat the kernel; inside it heavenly gods sleep

man is the measure of all things

a small leak will sink a great ship

a wise man keeps wide company; a fool joins a clique

it seems that

there is but a fine line between genius and insanity

birds of a feather flock together; don't mix your horses with your cows

to put up an (emotional) wall (between two people); to become distant