tighten; strap/tie sth tight; strangle

(Cantonese)/blackmail; extort/poor or needy

to blackmail;

to extort; extortion

strangle; tighten sb/sth (often with ropes, strings, etc)

strangled/having no money

to strangle; to strangle; stranglulate; strangulation

to be strangled

take austerity measures; cut down on spending to save money

lit. to tighten one's belt, meaning to reduce unnecessary spending to save more for living expenses

dark complexion; dark, tanned skin; dark, ugly and bearded (used in a derogatory sense)

to wake up and escape disaster at the last moment; to pull back before it is too late

Carribean

a rein, reins

basil

Oregon, U. S. State

to save money for living

halfway; somewhere in between