in tatters

Such revelations leave the accuser's credibility in tatters, whether or not her account of what took place in the hotel room is true.

Given Japan's already high public debt, it would also be hard to sustain; public services might still end up in tatters.

Just a year ago the fund's finances were in tatters and its relevance was in doubt.

The construction industry is in tatters and, with hundreds of thousands of unsold new houses, is not about to recover.

Chelsea produced a performance of great quality and strength to leave Liverpool's dreams in tatters after this quarter-final first leg.

The husband presented his bride with a beautiful wrapped present that he had been saving for years. Her gift for him was in tatters.

Once, an old man in tatters and his sick wife stopped me on the way back to the university.

North Korea's economy is in tatters, and the North Korean government relies on aid from China to help alleviate widespread food shortages.

With his reputation in tatters , a furious Lewis Hamilton and his father Anthony are said to be seriously considering leaving the team.

He had led early opinion polls but, unless the case against him quickly crumbles, his presidential ambitions appear to be in tatters.

While Kenya's big men refuse to compromise, the country's reputation as a beacon of stability in a sea of regional turbulence is in tatters.

The Doha round of trade talks is in tatters, because farm protection is still too precious.

You spooked a lot of people last week when you talked about how the economy was in tatters and would be there for quite some time.

With Congo's economy in tatters, its government near-bankrupt and his popularity plummeting, the young president needs a victory.

His nuclear antics have also upset South Korea's president, Roh Moo-hyun, whose "sunshine" policy towards the North is in tatters.

Adriano's positive pre-season could be in tatters after the Inter hitman suffered a potentially serious thigh injury.

The business of extracting fat fees from creating complex debt structures is in tatters.

By the time Queiroz comes back, the qualifying campaign could be in tatters.

I know of a child who read a particular favourite book until it was in tatters.

Public-health care in Luochuan, as elsewhere in rural China, is now in tatters .

The collapse of the pound has left many couples' plans for the good life in tatters.

It made disastrous investments in the late 1990s, including in LTCM, and was taken over, in tatters, by Swiss Bank Corp.

They woke yesterday with their hopes and dreams, which were within grasping distance a few weeks ago, in tatters .

With the reputation of market discipline in tatters, central bankers will get vast new supervisory powers.

But his reputation was in tatters, and he struggled with financial problems.

While she looks well preserved, on a molecular level Lyuba is in tatters.

Today, the Hejaz rail line lies in tatters due to lack of investment and rigid border policies.

FAKED votes, cracked skulls, a jailed opposition, beaten-up protesters and relations with Europe in tatters.

The country is on the verge of bankruptcy and, even more important for those of Viking stock, its international reputation is in tatters .

The social security system, currently in tatters , should be put on a "relatively firm basis" .

The two could pay a steeper price than seeing their career's careers in tatters ; they may land in jail .

Most important, though the number of chronically sick in the city has risen sharply, medical services remain in tatters .

The nuclear non-proliferation regime is in tatters.

Their hands are tied in many respects, and their plans for world domination lay in tatters.

Yet by the time The Economist went to press, their plans were in tatters.

The tender velvet dies and is scraped away until it hangs in tatters.

Much of its industry remains in tatters.

Volatile stock markets have left investor confidence in tatters.

Time will heal our current woes -- the economy, even when it's in tatters , runs in cycles.

Two years ago the relationship was in tatters.

The once buoyant hedge fund industry has been left in tatters by unprecedented volatility.

Five weeks later, Mr Lewis's strategy is in tatters.

He says walking past the site later, he saw buildings in tatters.

Having ragged clothes; dressed in tatters.

You could not tell that just three weeks earlier, this place had been in tatters.

My reputation is in tatters.

This is perhaps the biggest surprise of Sunday's result: last September, when the DPJ drove it from power, the LDP was in tatters.

Our strategy for Vietnam was in tatters.

Its promises are largely in tatters.

Pakistan's ambition to co-host the 2011 World Cup is surely in tatters.

His trousers are all in tatters.

This week, that deal lies in tatters.

i must go before my reputation is in tatters on this rug

if these family lives were in tatters i certainly could not see it

With your nerves in tatters

Massacre leaves UN's Syria plan in tatters

When the world is in tatters