But if this is all you can say in your defence, then you are running on empty.

ECONOMIST: A presidency that is shrinking even as you look at it

"If you're running on empty and trying to exercise, you're more inclined to feel any aches and pains, " he says.

WSJ: When It's Worth It to Skip a Workout and Sleep

It was a very physical game, but in the last 10-15 minutes most players were running on empty out there.

BBC: Boss Dai Young says Blues won Cup 'the hard way'

McCain known as a fierce advocate for tighter campaign finance laws applied for matching funds last year, when his campaign was running on empty.

NPR: New FEC Nominees May Not Help McCain Campaign

McCain also settled out of court with Jackson Browne for using his 1977 hit "Running on Empty" in a campaign ad without the artist's permission.

CNN: Campaigns rock at their own risk

But for the moment, politicians in Madrid continue to say it's not the Spanish bull that's running on empty -- but the Spanish banks whose cupboards are dry.

CNN: Spain is bailed -- but questions remain

And unlike Primedia, say, which owns 86 specialty publications and can wield its size to reduce printing costs and wring efficiencies from cross-selling, Vulcan is often in danger of running on empty.

FORBES: Staying On Target

Medicare is already near to running on empty.

FORBES: Magazine Article

Peterson authored Running on Empty (2004), Will America Grow Up Before It Grows Old? (1996) and, lest his theme escape you, Facing Up: How to Rescue the Economy from Crushing Debt and Restore the American Dream (1993).

FORBES: Dunce Glut

The resident told investigators that the car was about 200 yards from Clements' house on Colonial Park drive at about 8:30 p.m. and it was running but empty.

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