Several dishes fall just shy of the target.

A drop too much lemon on the asparagus, for example, and the entire dish would fall apart.

A few dishes fell short, but the majority were tasty and carefully prepared.

Piled dishes fall off and shatter on the floor.

There were few complete disasters or delights at a recent dinner; instead, most dishes fell into a rather ordinary middle ground.

In general, most dishes fell into the extremes of being winning or terrible.

A dish fell to the floor and exploded.

At entree time, only one dish fell short.

Although a few dishes fell short, the success rate was impressive.

Several dishes held high promise but fell short.