The wreckage, the oil and the fire became too much and he lost his grip.

BBC: WWI generation

Gaudio, in his first major quarter-final, never lost his grip on the match and earned five more service breaks.

BBC: SPORT | Tennis | Gaudio too good for Hewitt

Savickas looked strong at first, then lost his grip, dropping the frame six times before leaving it for good two yards from the finish line.

NEWYORKER: The Strongest Man in the World

This former heroin addict takes us through the painful personal history of a friend who took too many drugs, lost his grip on reality, and, shortly before his death at 28 became obsessed with the numerological minutiae of the Book of Revelation with all its dark horrors and visionary frenzy.

ECONOMIST: Canons of conflict

But if Mr Suharto has lost his economic grip, he retains one great skill: ensuring that his re-election every five years is virtually unopposed.

ECONOMIST: For Suharto the medicine looks nasty

Putin lost no time cementing his grip on political power.

NPR: Putin's Party Cracks Down Despite Expected Victory

Maybe Stephen Carter, his new right-hand man at Number 10, will help: Mr Carter is reputedly the man to provide the grip and focus that Mr Brown lost when he gave his erstwhile top aides their own cabinet jobs.

ECONOMIST: Bagehot