Containing a Pair of Synonyms

lit. to add oil and vinegar/fig. adding details while telling a story (to make it more interesting)

scramble for power and profit (idiom); power struggle

tall building

howling wind and torrential rain (idiom)/(fig.) difficult, dangerous situation

covering the whole land/over hills and dales

lit. overturning seas and rivers (idiom)/fig. overwhelming/earth-shattering/in a spectacular mess

outlandish/strange-looking/grotesque

lit. the fat and wealth of the people (idiom); the nation's hard-won wealth (esp. as an object of unscrupulous exploitation)/the people's blood, sweat and tears

boundless; limitless

to be very clear about sth (idiom)

restless with anxiety/to feel unbearably painful or hot

sighing voice, wailing breath (idiom)/to heave deep sighs/to sigh in despair

scattered about like stars in the sky or chess pieces on a board (idiom); spread all over the place

to produce clouds with one turn of the hand and rain with another (idiom); fig. to shift one's ground/tricky and inconstant/to make love

gossip; hearsay; rumor

delicate as a flower, refined as a precious jade (idiom)/(of a woman) exquisite

lit. fight minutes, snatch seconds (idiom); a race against time/making every second count

the earth quaked, the mountains shook (idiom); a tremendous battle

carefree and without worries (idiom)

fast as lightning

to take revenge and wipe out a grudge (idiom)

wine sack, food bag (idiom); useless person, only fit for guzzling and boozing

to bite words and chew characters (idiom); punctilious about minutiae of wording

no one to rely on (idiom); on one's own/orphaned/left to one's own devices

wide sea and sky (idiom); boundless open vistas/the whole wide world/chatting about everything under the sun

dispirited and downcast (idiom); listless/in low spirits/washed out