Example sentences of "be little [pron] could " in BNC.

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1 The truth , she mused , as others had done before her , was an elusive element , and — short of shooting them in the kneecaps , or intermittently holding their heads under water there was little one could do to persuade people to reveal it .
2 ‘ They said there was little they could do about it , although they have been excellent and have stepped up their patrols .
3 Consequently there was little they could do early that night when a mammoth sea caught them dangerously broached-to , but the buoyancy of Mae West life jackets wedged in the bow and stern kept the waterlogged canoe afloat till the storm eased around midnight — some 24 hours after it blew up .
4 The guerrilla role changed once again , for there was little they could do against well defended airstrips when the natives gave away patrols before they were within striking distance of Japanese posts .
5 Without substantially re-thinking their politics , there was little they could do to resist these forces .
6 But there was little they could do about it except wring their hands at each fresh horror in its columns , analyse its transparently partisan coverage , and point out how its competitors were dragging their standards downmarket to try to keep up with its soaraway sales .
7 Although many Carlists and Falangists naturally disliked the Unification , with their fighting men busy at the front there was little they could do to resist it , especially since they shared the general Nationalist respect for ‘ authority ’ .
8 Critics might complain of what one of them called " the mysterious and irresponsible manner in which foreign politics are arranged " ; but there was little they could do to change the situation .
9 The district council had offered to go to Boston to discuss the situation with Digital executives but they had been told there was little they could do .
10 This reflected a very negative and ageist view that there was little which could be done to improve the health of older people .
11 It seemed there was little which could tempt dealers to buy .
12 Until now , there was little we could do about this , but complaints have been taken seriously and discussions are now under way between OFTEL , the Office of Telecommunications , and the British Direct Marketing Association ( BDMA , representing companies who use telesales ) .
13 Charles and Dimity 's bleak surroundings worried Harold continuously but there was little he could do .
14 She heard Rab , ‘ Get up ya lazy swine , ’ but Phillis did not stir ; there was little he could do .
15 Agreed , there was little he could do to ‘ sweeten ’ the corpse , but so much depended on how the body was ‘ dress 'd and trimm 'd ’ ; few people would be willing to patronize a funeral furnisher who took little care over the presentation of bodies .
16 Although the strong-minded Negrín was never the Communist catspaw his many critics accused him of being , there was little he could do in the circumstances to prevent the Communists from exercising an increasingly independent and even dominant role within Republican Spain .
17 There was little he could do about the image .
18 There was little he could do to combat the hostility of the media , but after the frustrations of his first term he decided to face up to the bureaucracy and the legislature .
19 But while Draper might protest against the idea — while he might fulminate against his partner risking the hard-earned profits of the record company , the fruits of years of work and tears on a hare-brained scheme to run an airline — he also knew that there was little he could actually do to stop it .
20 In the meantime there was little he could do to prevent Leathart 's inspection .
21 He thought he had probably broken it , but there was little he could do at this time of night .
22 Blake tried to persuade him that there was little he could have done anyway , but the time traveller would not agree .
23 He decided that although the Prime Mover had granted his wish , it was up to him how he used that time ; but with his badly broken body there was little he could do .
24 The development officer said she felt there was little she could do except visit occasionally .
25 He sensed it was because she could see he enjoyed the flying and there was little she could do .
26 She attempted to restore some order to her tousled hair with her fingers , then stroked on a little blusher to counteract at least a little of her pallor ; but there was little she could do to repair the ravages of the night , and finally she turned away with a heavy sigh .
27 She was not a small girl , was reasonably athletic for a woman , but there was little she could do to fight off a determined man , particularly when she was neither mentally nor physically prepared for such a brutal assault .
28 She also had a strong suspicion that , despite his kisses , Silas was thoroughly annoyed with her , and , while it made her feel depressed , she felt there was little she could do about it .
29 Juliet went into Room G to see how Bobbie Cole was , but there was little she could do .
30 She bit her lip over the length , but there was little she could do about it .
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