Malta was the key to the Mediterranean and the only hindrance to Rommel's supply lines which stretched back to Italy.

The only hindrance is that there is too much demand.

The only hindrance now was a couple of sherbet straights, doing a very showy Arthur Murray routine less than ten feet away.

The only hindrance to his goal of becoming a full-pledged priest was his racial origins.

The only hindrance was the huge throng of other tourists swarming the sidewalks and squares, even in late October.

Among other races, the only hindrance to inter-racial marriages is not legal but rather cultural.

The only hindrance to intruders was what I took to be a warning, graven over the arched opening, on the outside of the high wall.

The only hindrance to development is the insurgency and rampant corruption that has destabilize the whole region from poor infrastructure to poor planning by the officials.

On any given day, the only hindrance to parking might be a yellow school bus attempting a turnaround.

Previously, Ms. Johnson's own reticence to succeed her father appeared to be the only hindrance to her rise.