a rag and a bone and a hank of hair
Proposed by a contributor, not yet supported by evidence.
Meaning · English
A person who is extremely thin or gaunt
Literally: a tattered cloth, a bare bone, and a lock of hair
Examples
After her illness, she was a rag and a bone and a hank of hair
AI-drafted example auto-approved by rule (illustrative, not a corpus attestation)
Sources & notes
Listed on English Wikiquote “English proverbs” (CC BY-SA 4.0, retrieved 2026-07-31). Definition drafted by AI (@cf/meta/llama-3.3-70b-instruct-fp8-fast) and auto-approved by rule on 2026-07-31; pending editor spot-check.
Common questions
What does “a rag and a bone and a hank of hair” mean?
A person who is extremely thin or gaunt Literally: a tattered cloth, a bare bone, and a lock of hair
Is “a rag and a bone and a hank of hair” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.