expression:

• victory goes to the one who makes the first move; being quick to take action leads to victory; the early bird gets the worm - four character idiom

expression / godan ~す verb:

• to turn misfortune into fortune (esp. through one's own efforts); to turn the potential disaster to one's advantage - idiom

expression / godan ~す verb:

• to turn misfortune into fortune (esp. through one's own efforts); to turn the potential disaster to one's advantage - idiom ➜ 災い転じて福となす【わざわいてんじてふくとなす】

ichidan verb / transitive:

• to fall in love at first sight
• to see for the first time; to meet for the first time - archaism
• to have sexual relations for the first time - archaism

noun:

• rod; pole
• neck (of a shamisen, etc.); shamisen - esp. 棹
• beam (i.e. the crossbar of a balance)
• single line (esp. as a flying formation for geese)
• penis - slang

counter:

• counter for flags (on poles); counter for long, thin Japanese sweets (e.g. youkan)

noun:

• person who resorts to petty tricks; a person of small caliber who is only capable of petty tricks - four character idiom

noun:

• lighthouse
• old-fashioned interior light fixture comprising a wooden pole with an oil-filled dish and a wick atop it

noun / ~する noun:

• preliminary inspection; having a look in advance
• preparatory read-through (e.g. of lesson notes)

noun:

• siding (on a house); clapboard; weatherboard ➜ 下見板【したみいた】

noun:

• kitchen with a small counter for eating, usu. allowing a view into the living and dining rooms - From English "counter kitchen"

noun:

• sheathing (under thatched roofing) - abbreviation
• lath (used as a foundation for a mud plaster wall)
• decorative rafters (of alternating wood and bamboo) ➜ 桟竹

noun:

• humorous mask of a homely woman's face (characterized by a small low nose, high flat forehead, and bulging cheeks)

expression / godan ~く verb:

• to employ one's secret weapon; to play one's trump card; to use the ace up one's sleeve - idiom

noun:

• manner of speaking
• verbal argument
• objection; protesting a decision (esp. that of a sumo referee)
• rumor; rumour

noun:

• corsage; small bouquet worn by a woman - From French
• bodice of a woman's dress - archaism

expression / interjection:

• time in - said by a referee at the end of a time out - Sports term - From English "no time" ➜ タイム

expression:

• making a move immediately in a timed game (shogi, go, etc.)

noun:

• decorative ridge-end tile (traditionally bearing the face of a demon and resembling a gargoyle)
• hideous face - obscure term

noun:

• stringing a bow; person who strings bows
• crescent moon - abbreviation ➜ 弓張り月
• paper lantern with a bow-shaped handle - abbreviation ➜ 弓張り提灯

noun / ~の noun:

• having a child (usu. from a former relationship); accompanied by one's child

~たる adjective / ~と adverb:

• glasses and plates being scattered about after a party or banquet; articles lying about in a jumble - archaism - four character idiom

expression:

• being lavish with one's money; spending a huge sum of money at once on a treat - four character idiom

expression:

• Very truly yours (a complimentary close used in a letter written in an old epistolary style) - four character idiom

noun:

• grasping one's chopsticks the same way one might hold a walking stick (a breach of etiquette)

noun:

• any of a number of respectful terms written after the addressee's name in a formal letter

noun:

• leader of a nobleman's cavalcade - archaism
• animal messenger of the gods (i.e. a fox) ［みさき］

expression:

• zeal is a bad servant; the person who chases a deer does not see the mountain [literal] - proverb