As the attacker is coming down, the defender may counter by pulling up into a barrel roll, resulting in a rolling scissors.

His defenders counter that he kept the system from being even worse.

But defenders of some of the biggest dud deals can always counter their critics with one unanswerable question: Would things have been any better if the deal never happened?

The senator's defenders counter that his stands are nuanced.

His defenders counter that the moderate Baldwin felt he could not start a programme of aggressive re-armament without a national consensus on the matter.

Mr. Abrams's defenders counter that the report dwelled more on institutional failures than personal ones.

Only if water runs uphill, Dr. Korfmann's defenders countered.

Mr. Lipton's defenders counter that his advice, in the end, served the best interests of the firm and shareholders.

His defenders counter that his commanding style was a necessary response to the extreme circumstances of his unit's deployment.

Many legal scholars doubt whether he could be an effective consensus builder on the court, though some defenders counter that he might be eager to adapt to a new challenge.