1.   And how many more will the Pentagon sacrifice to stave off further criticism of its gender policies?

2.   She brought some fruit on the journey to stave off hunger.

3.   These were noises to stave off the silence into which misery might seep, noises to throw against the hardness of life.

4.   The partial lifting of the oil ban was reportedly prompted by a recent UN report recommending limited sales of Iraqi oil to stave off imminent mass starvation.

5.   The reality is that Vietnam needs to leave Kampuchea to stave off economic disaster and to satisfy Mikhail Gorbachev.

6.   He is therefore prepared to countenance a reduction in his real wage so as to stave off the threat of dismissal.

7.   Staving off death is a thing that you have to work at.

8.   There was always the real ale to stave off the effects of ageing for a while.

9.   The revival continued, and Middlesbrough staved off relegation.