I should be very surprised indeed if a plea of insanity could fail, backed up by this.

But 67 times, his plea failed to persuade.

If his pleas fail, he batters heads and breaks bones.

But his pleas failed and, in the opinion of some there, perhaps even backfired.

But in the end, his pleas failed to sway either council members or Mr. Bloomberg.

If all went well, Roger would not even have to state his case, for the plea would fail of itself when the pleader failed to appear.

Skanderbeg's pleas to have these men back, by either ransom or prisoner exchange, failed.

Much had been written in their behalf but all pleas had failed.

Repeated pleas to be moved to the top of the queue failed.

But when schools ask for similar aid from low-income and immigrant parents, the pleas may fail if parents see education as being only the teacher's job.