You could fix many problems, and distract them from others.
It was just enough to distract them from their gardens.
The showmanship didn't distract them from their quick-tongued raps, flinging insults with elaborate internal rhymes.
"They are not terribly modest, and they have little to distract them from being bored.
England, though, were not going to allow anything to distract them from their overriding objective.
"If nothing else, it may distract them from kicking each other under the table," I said.
I'm considering giving the squirrels their own feeder, to distract them from the bird feeders.
And many commentators are allowing their rage at Mr Walker's provocations to distract them from the bigger questions.
But the message is designed to keep Cubans on their toes, and distract them from the island's continuing economic difficulties.
She agrees that bad online games can addict people, make them belligerent, distract them from reality and leave them empty.
"When people are shopping, sometimes color can distract them from the architecture or the lines of the space," she said.
