The question now is whether the crash will be enough to catalyze so-far fitful efforts to resolve the conflict.

The announcement marked a potential turning point in months of fitful efforts by the administration that have yielded some recent progress.

Despite some fitful efforts in the early 1980s, the band had effectively dissolved before their video plans were realized.

Better still, McDonald's should ramp up its fitful efforts to make its food more nutritious.

There were fitful efforts to win contracts for launching earth-sensing satellites, navigation and so forth.

His fitful unilateral efforts at making contact with a deaf world.

Instead, it made fitful, limited efforts to investigate the issue, but quickly dropped them, the report said.

Conversely, the price of weapons has plummeted since the Americans arrived and began fitful efforts to collect arms from Somalis.

With shaky, fitful effort, the man placed the point of the pen upon a long sheet of lined yellow paper.

Despite plans, projects and fitful efforts, there is no consistent program to provide the peasants with basic needs such as clean water, health care and education.