But the show is also slow to declare its purpose (even at the interval, it isn't clear what is at stake), an uncertainty that gives some of its multiple storylines an air of soap-opera inconsequentiality.
Now, after a decent interval, it can be posted, quite anonymously, on eBay and its real value tested.
Before the interval it had seemed a matter of when, not if, Liverpool would score.
If this felt at the time like a thoroughly indecent interval, it now appears comparatively restrained.
If there was the expected resurgence from Celtic after the interval, it tended to lack subtlety.
By the time I got to the interval, it was all improvised.
"Come l'ulivo," a friend remarked: the two-year interval it takes olives to come to fruit.
If a signal occurs after an atypical interval, it is less likely to be detected.
After the interval it turns much darker as Sondheim adds psychological depth to the characters.
Since this would entail the determination of average forces over the interval, it would be inconvenient.
When the much-coveted Neymar shot wide moments before the interval, it seemed as though Brazil may be coming to life.
