An awfully big adventure 2

to avoid doing something:

duck out

with strong muscles and little fat:

sinewy

the state of being extremely tired:

exhaustion

a short, solid piece of metal that moves up and down inside a cylinder in an engine to press the fuel into a small space and to send the power produced by it to the wheels

piston

a very unpleasant and painful or difficult experience:

ordeal

to work hard as a group in order to achieve something:

pull together

used to describe which particular area of a subject you are discussing:

in terms of

a fact or standard by which you can judge the success or value of something:

yardstick

to wish very strongly, especially for something that you cannot have or something that is very difficult to have:

yearn

strong determination:

resolve

to prevent someone or something from sinking:

buoy up

the quality or fact of being the same, or of not changing or being different in any way:

uniformity

the physical and/or mental strength to do something that might be difficult and will take a long time:

stamina

something that might possibly happen in the future, usually causing problems or making further arrangements necessary:

contingency

carrying or holding a lot of something:

laden

a painful swelling on the skin that contains liquid, caused usually by continuous rubbing, especially on your foot, or by burning:

blister

a problem that you have to deal with before you can make progress:

hurdle

the muscle that separates the chest from the lower part of the body;

diaphragm