11.   In reality, of course, promises made on the campaign trail often hit the skids once they reach Congress.

12.   It has certainly convinced the Red Storm players that their season has hit the skids, and that only their own improved efforts can brake this free fall.

13.   Mann recorded a second album with Imago, but the label hit the skids after losing its distribution deal.

14.   Like any stock that hits the skids after its initial public offering, Donna Karan International has attracted some contrarian investors.

15.   Microsoft, one of the first big tech companies to hit the skids, was one of the first to come up with a pseudo-repricing.

16.   Ms. Ziff, of the cult rock group Betty, knows just how to deflate when Sassy hits the skids.

17.   Now they have hit the skids.

18.   One day earlier, though, a different merger hit the skids.

19.   The major stock market indexes hit the skids that same month, and margin debt has been falling ever since.

20.   The rules of the venture capital game have changed some since many dot-com darlings and other high-tech stocks hit the skids on Wall Street last month.