| Despite the strong start and the strong acting, the film as a whole petered out toward the end. |
| Even the run-down Roman roads which served England after a fashion petered out in Scotland. |
| The war petered out, and the colonies gained their collective independence. |
| Eventually the track petered out and he had to find his way by keeping the rounded summit of the opposite, Army-held hill behind his back. |
| Each section had the glimmerings of a good plot, but they all petered out into nothing very much. |
| The local musicians and the tourists were thoroughly suspicious of something so synthetic, and it petered out. |
