to subdue	to bring sth under control
in lieu of	instead of
laid-back	calm and relaxed
backlash	a violent reaction to some event
multi-faceted	having many aspects
to blaze new trials	to do sth for the first time
know-how	practical knowledge of sth or skill
to snuggle	to lie or to get close to sb for warmth/comfort
off the beaten track	far away from civilization, remote
imminent	likely to happen very soon
out of harm's way	in a safe place
to be on one's toes	to be ready for action, to be on alert
to gloat over sb	to express selfish delight at own success or one's failure
counter-intuitive	contrary to what one would naturally expect
affluent	rich, prosperous, wealthy (of a society)
conscientious	that does things with great care and attention
to suffice to say	to be enough to say
to entrench	to establish firmly
incorrigible	that cannot be corrected
flippant	not showing sufficient respect/seriousness
remnant	the remaining part of sth
to exacerbate	to make sth already bad even worse
to perpetuate	to cause to continue
to make both ends meet	to have just enough money to survive
legible	(of sb's handwriting) that can be read easily
to dangle	to hang or swing loosely
ambiguous	having more than one meaning, doubtful, dubious
to be besotted	to be made silly, especially by love
concealment	an instance of hiding sth
adjunct	sth added to sth else, usually bigger
to give rise to	to cause (idiom)