def axis_ticklabels_overlap(labels):
    """Return a boolean for whether the list of ticklabels have overlaps.

    Parameters
    ----------
    labels : list of ticklabels

    Returns
    -------
    overlap : boolean
        True if any of the labels overlap.
    """
    if not labels:
        return False
    try:
        bboxes = [l.get_window_extent() for l in labels]
        overlaps = [b.count_overlaps(bboxes) for b in bboxes]
        return max(overlaps) > 1
    except RuntimeError:
        # Issue on macosx backend rasies an error in the above code
        return False