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running on fumes 

Describing a car or other form of transport that is running very low on fuel.

Also an euphimism for very tired.
1. Its lucky we found this garage, look at the fuel guage, we were running on fumes.

2. The runner finished the marathon but later said to reporters that towards the end that he was 'running on fumes'.
running on fumes by Blue Cawdrey November 27, 2004

Running on fumes 

Verb phrase.
At the end of one's resources or personal energy.

This comes from the condition of a car when it's gas gauge reads "E" or "Empty." In a car on empty, you don't know how much fuel you have left, so you assume your fuel is so low that it has evaporated into fumes.
After that Marathon, I'm so exhausted that I'm running on fumes.

My car's fuel gauge is reading "E"; I'm running on fumes, so I might not make it to the next gas station.
Running on fumes by anonymous December 1, 2023