But over the decades, it lost its edge to France, Russia and, most recently, Japan.
He recalled an era when quirky rebels dominated the sport, before it lost its edge to recreational road racers and strictly-business professionals.
He has always had a fantastic short game but while he was doing that it lost its edge.
Some slang becomes respectable when it loses its edge; "spunk," "fizzle," "spent," "hit the spot," "jazz," "funky," and "p.o.'d," once thought to be too indecent for feminine ears, are now family words.
I adore John and Yoko, but I rarely adore "Give Peace a Chance"—and without its raggedy beginning, and without being delivered by two longhairs protesting in a bed, it loses its edge.
"Their performance requires the absolute attention of the audience or it loses its edge," said Ms. Bell, who introduced the act to Mr. Fischer's hometown, Los Angeles, last year with a $200,000 show sponsored by Levi Strauss and the nonprofit Art Production Fund.
"2007 the French World Cup was really intense, we really enjoyed it, but again, we played some games at Murrayfield, so it loses its edge.
And was that a better or worse approach than heating it up more and potentially having it lose its edge by the last sector?
Terror is its foundation, and without fighting, it loses its edge.
Aite Group reckons the average algo only lasts for three months before it loses its edge and has to be replaced with something snazzier.
Not too long ago, Bing Maps was pretty competitive with Google Maps, but it feels like it has lost its edge a bit lately.
