{
  "id": "running-lean.upkeep",
  "term": "running lean",
  "sense": "upkeep",
  "pos": "adjective",
  "status": "review",
  "level": 15,
  "arena": "lexicon",
  "domain": "emergence",
  "style": "folk",
  "definition": "Maintenance that holds a thing inside its window by cutting every margin until only the bare structure remains, revealing how close the walls are to collapse.",
  "folk_gloss": "operating with minimal resources or staff.",
  "emergence": {
    "components": [
      "maintenance.upkeep",
      "margin.spatial",
      "window.range",
      "wall.range-end"
    ],
    "interaction": "noun",
    "novel_properties": [
      "the-phrase-itself"
    ]
  },
  "examples": [
    {
      "text": "Detroit's city services operated with 30% fewer workers after 2008, leaving streetlights unlit for blocks at a time.",
      "domain": "institutions"
    },
    {
      "text": "The International Space Station's crew ran CO2 scrubbers beyond rated capacity during 2010 filter shortages.",
      "domain": "engineering"
    },
    {
      "text": "Myanmar's 2021 internet shutdown forced hospitals to coordinate surgeries via handwritten logs for weeks.",
      "domain": "everyday life"
    }
  ],
  "relations": [],
  "used_by": [],
  "forms": [
    "run lean",
    "running lean"
  ],
  "closed": false,
  "provenance": {
    "author": "phrases:qwen/qwen3-235b-a22b-2507",
    "date": "2026-07-29",
    "confidence": 0.7,
    "sources": [
      "folk phrase — margin eaten by optimization"
    ]
  },
  "canonical": "https://emergencemachine.com/tools/lexicon/what-is-the-meaning-of-running-lean.upkeep"
}