But when the enemy is literally waiting at the doorstep, pausing the grenades can allow them a foothold inside.
Lamb was twice guilty of taking the riskier, wrong option, allowing Bristol a foothold in the contest.
KEVIN ROOSE GAINING A FOOTHOLD The Federal Reserve opened the door for China's biggest bank to establish a presence in the United States on Wednesday, allowing the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China to take a majority stake in an American institution.
Wishing to increase his profits and keep his family out of debt, Calvin Cassowary, the protagonist of Rob Levandoski's third novel, has allowed a conglomerate to get a foothold in his chicken business.
The English gained control over Wales, Scotland and Ireland not to allow outside powers a foothold on the British Isles.
And indeed Wolfgang directed little of merit himself, though he invited distinguished conductors and directors to Bayreuth none of whom was allowed to establish a foothold there.
And profitable firms can be slow to spot changes in technology and tastes, allowing new entrants a foothold.
By creating a lawless Iraq, Bush allowed al-Qaida a foothold that Saddam had always denied it.
"If we allow that foothold to consolidate, then it could affect the stability of our entire region," he says.
The British government is becoming increasingly concerned that a military vacuum in Libya has allowed Isis to gain a foothold around the town of Sirte in Libya as well as to make military incursions inside Tunisia.
