Sections of the canal need to be drained of water in order to complete the work.

BBC: Fish removed from Bath canal for lock repairs

Bernanke and the FOMC have maintained that such action will only be taken when warranted by data, but there appears to be enough of an expectation that the punch bowl will at least be drained (albeit not taken away) to jar the market.

FORBES: Thrill Of Victory, Agony Of Defeat In A Single Session For The Bulls

But it can be drained as well--maybe some of the new hedge fund and private equity fortunes won't look so round a year from now.

FORBES: Ebb and Flow

Essentially, what the Times described was the rapid rise of "quote approval" -- a strategy deployed by campaigns requiring reporters to send quotations they intend to use to candidates' press officers, to be sliced, diced, edited and drained of color or unwanted consequences, and reporters going along, fearing that if they don't, they won't get access.

CNN: Dan Rather: 'Quote approval' a media sellout

They note that only a fraction of the site will be cleared and drained.

ECONOMIST: Oil, rockets and troubled waters

First, the body fluids must be drained and replaced with a formaldehyde-based product, said Richard Arnold, managing director of the Embalmer Training School in Britain and a qualified embalmer for 20 years.

CNN: What's behind the display of embalmed world leaders?

With its dark and drained colors and its yawning gap where a sense of humor is supposed to be, the movie works hard to suggest that there is both art and mystery to the calling of the hit man, but not everyone will be convinced.

NEWYORKER: Bangkok Dangerous

Many economists fret about an unpleasant scenario in 2011, when the stream of stimulus money will ebb, reserves will have been drained and revenues will still be meagre.

ECONOMIST: State budgets in crisis