With her entire future hanging by a thread, it took a supreme effort to smile and converse with these cheerful, well-meaning people, and to ignore her father's apprehensive glances.

With Haiti's political future hanging in the balance, a reconstituted army would be yet another piece on an increasingly confusing chessboard shared by militias, gangs and myriad opposition groups.

With a 5-4 record entering the game, the Giants seemed to have their immediate and long-term future hanging in the balance.

But as she sat there alone in the cold, dark night with a child missing and her future hanging by a thread, she had a hard time thinking what they were.

With the city's future hanging in the balance, police cruisers were sent out to collect legislators and their aides and transport them to City Hall.

They realise that in their dealings with others there is no shadow of the future hanging over them, since they are unlikely to be dealing with those people tomorrow.

This time there is no tournament or prize money, just a fight to the finish with the fate of the future hanging in the balance.

Like his entire future hanging in the balance, for example.

On a recent afternoon, the photograph of the snow-draped college president's house leaned against a wall in the Ammermans' new apartment, for future hanging.

'Then . . .' He left the future hanging in the air.