When outcomes are systematically different than expected to a degree where expectations cease to be meaningful, policies are never actually effective because desired outcomes are systematically never achieved.
And thus to Wales, where expectations of success have probably never been higher.
These were mere smudges in a series of good snapshots, where expectations were often surpassed.
Where expectations for a certain lifestyle have been lowered and hopes for salvation through education and technology have been raised.
The house is a fantasy world where expectations created by the outside are subverted by the inside view.
This was followed by Bosnia, where expectations of "safe havens" were raised only to crash in tragedy.
It isn't easy to stay grounded at Yankee Stadium, where expectations soar like military jets across sunny Bronx skies.
"The problem comes if you get into a situation where expectations reverse," said David Collander, an economist at Middlebury College.
The situation is both worse and better than in other Arab Spring countries, where expectations were predictably large in the heady days after the dictators fell.
Those looking for sure things need to steer completely clear of the World Series, where expectations are rewritten by the inning.
