title: Can vim syntax priorities be reversed?
body: <p>Here is the entry for <code>:help syn-priority</code>.</p>
  
  <pre><code>PRIORITY                        *:syn-priority*
  
  When several syntax items may match, these rules are used:
  
  1. When multiple Match or Region items start in the same position, the item
     defined last has priority.
  2. A Keyword has priority over Match and Region items.
  3. An item that starts in an earlier position has priority over items that
     start in later positions.
  </code></pre>
  
  <p>It appears that rule <code>3</code> seems to override rule <code>1</code>. </p>
  
  <p><strong>Is it possible to make rule <code>1</code> take precedence over rule 3?</strong></p>
  
  <p>Here is a concrete example of the undesirable behavior. Using the following syntax file, it seems that <code>nTODO</code> has a higher priority than <code>boldme</code>.</p>
  
  <pre><code>syntax clear
  syntax case match
  
  syntax match nTODO /^\s*!!.*/ 
  syntax match boldme /\*.\+\*/
  
  highlight nTODO  ctermfg=Yellow
  highlight boldme ctermfg=Red
  </code></pre>
  
  <p>Example input to match on:</p>
  
  <pre><code>This *line* has one word Red.
  !!This line is completely yellow.
  !!This line is also *completely* yellow, but I want one word to be red.
  </code></pre>