lead-up

The Times previously reported that in the lead-up to the Jan. 7 inferno, the Santa Ynez Reservoir had been empty for months and more than 1,000 hydrants were in need of repair.

Well backed in lead-up to race, would be suited by dry spell with good going right up his street.

"We had spent six months begging for help in the lead-up to this," the boy's father told the BBC.

As ever, it was hard to tell what the specific courses of action would be in the lead-up to Wednesday’s Rose Garden announcement.

The criticism about his leadership from within his party and accusations that he intends to cling to power evoked memories of the lead-up to the coup that toppled Mugabe.