Vocabulary

it is often the originator of problems who kicks up a fuss or complains loudest; the one who smelt it dealt it

there is no use shutting the stable door after the horse has bolted; squeezing your buttocks after you have farted

sophism; chop logic; far-fetched argument; quibble; cavil; argument for argument's sake

excreta; raw sewage; human waste; night soil

living in retirement

bated breath; being cowed into silence

sheer cliff

to fit (e.g. a pane into a frame); to insert (e.g. a cork); to fasten (a button)

to fit (e.g. a pane into a frame); to set (e.g. a diamond); to inlay; to insert

medium; diviner; shaman; oracle

to joke; to jest; to kid; to josh

virgin consecrated to a deity; shrine maiden; (spiritualistic) medium

shamanism

spiritism; necromancy; sorcery

out of necessity; with no other option; perforce; unavoidably; reluctantly; unwillingly

light, thin, single-layer kimono (esp. from hemp or raw silk, for summer use)

curtain

curtain; field staff headquarters; secret meeting place

headquarters; general staff

close adviser; close advisor

direct appeal to the throne by the military

pavilion

curtain; drapery

assistance; backing; support

manure

dreadnought class (of warship)

crescent

crescent shape

to become famous overnight; to burst into fame

bulletin; collection of reports

wandering; rambling; roaming

to loiter; to hang around; to wander around; to prowl; to roam

bashful; shameful; ashamed

grateful; indebted

graciously

tears of gratitude

arbitrary

chigger; jigger; harvest mite (any mite of family Trombiculidae)

to be dispirited; to be dejected; to be disheartened; to lose heart

to be utterly disheartened