running on empty

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At the end of one's resources, out of money, as in I don't know how much longer we can live this way—we're running on empty with no jobs in sight. This idiom refers to a car running when the gas gauge indicates it is out of fuel. [Second half of 1900s]

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Words nearby running on empty

running joke, running knot, running light, running mate, running myrtle, running on empty, running pine, running repairs, running rhythm, running rigging, running room

How to use running on empty in a sentence

Just the hard-on before you shoot unarmed members of the public.
'Babylon' Review: The Dumb Lives of Trigger-Happy Cops|Melissa Leon|January 9, 2015|DAILY BEAST
Three on-the-record stories from a family: a mother and her daughters who came from Phoenix.
I Tried to Warn You About Sleazy Billionaire Jeffrey Epstein in 2003|Vicky Ward|January 7, 2015|DAILY BEAST
You just travel light with carry-on luggage, go to cities that you love, and get to hang out with all your friends.
Coffee Talk with Fred Armisen: On ‘Portlandia,’ Meeting Obama, and Taylor Swift’s Greatness|Marlow Stern|January 7, 2015|DAILY BEAST
It was a brick wall that we turned into the on-ramp of a highway.
Coffee Talk with Fred Armisen: On ‘Portlandia,’ Meeting Obama, and Taylor Swift’s Greatness|Marlow Stern|January 7, 2015|DAILY BEAST

Could the (thus far) timid trembling give way to a full-on, grand mal seizure?
26 Earthquakes Later, Fracking’s Smoking Gun Is in Texas|James Joiner|January 7, 2015|DAILY BEAST
There he gave orders for the car to be put into running condition for the following morning, and returned to the hotel.
The Joyous Adventures of Aristide Pujol|William J. Locke
The cantonment was split into two sections by an irregular ravine, or nullah, running east and west.
The Red Year|Louis Tracy
Father Gaspara was about to ask another question, when Ramona appeared in the doorway, flushed with running.
Ramona|Helen Hunt Jackson
After the Reserve Banks have been in operation long enough to be running smoothly, not a few branches will doubtless be organized.
Readings in Money and Banking|Chester Arthur Phillips
The fire along the three miles front is like the rumble of an express train running over fog signals.
Gallipoli Diary, Volume I|Ian Hamilton