Your predecessor tried to set the world on fire, and all that caught was his own pants.

Mr Babangida and his predecessors have tried to meet competing ethnic demands by spreading power around regional governments in a federal system.

His predecessor tried and nearly drowned.

Accorsi added, however, that he and his predecessor, George Young, had tried in the past to extend Bratzke's contract.

By taking such a strong stance today, the Chancellor is trying to reverse a budget-cutting trend that his predecessors have tried but failed to check.

And while you're at it, manifest that young aviator my predecessor was trying to string up," Tombstone said.

Both judges' predecessors had tried to persuade their landlord, the federal General Services Administration, to start an overhaul of the building's internal structure.

His predecessor, Arthur Levitt, tried unsuccessfully to ban such conflicts.

His predecessor "was just trying to be a delivery person," he said.

Howe's predecessor, Bobby Valentine, often called for suicide-squeeze plays, or tried to do something to surprise an opponent.