Those hoping for a big American diplomatic effort may be waiting in vain.

ECONOMIST: American diplomacy

All he did was work in the souks, the old markets of Aleppo, waiting in vain for the tourists to come back.

CNN: In Syria, searching for loved one taken away

With the Enyimba defence waiting in vain for the offside flag, Zitouni found himself unmarked in the six-yard area but headed over the bar from close range.

BBC: SPORT | Football | African | Esperance hold Enyimba

The Army, ever-secretive and rightly mistrustful of other government agencies, had not informed the governor, the mayor, the state police, the municipal police, or the federal police of its plans, so Guadalajarans huddled in their homes and workplaces, phoning and e-mailing one another, waiting in vain for advisories or information from the government as the sky filled with black smoke and the city rang with sirens.

NEWYORKER: The Kingpins

That might be partially true, and admittedly what I used to think sheltering under an umbrella on a London street corner waiting (in vain) for a free taxi, but there is more going on.

FORBES: Employee remuneration systems are often based on the wrong assumptions