bag of bones
Proposed by a contributor, not yet supported by evidence.
Meaning · English
A person who is very thin or frail
Literally: a bag containing bones
Where it’s used:
Used
Widespread English
Examples
After her illness, she was just a bag of bones.
AI-drafted example auto-approved by rule (illustrative, not a corpus attestation)
Sources & notes
Listed in Wiktionary’s “English idioms” category (retrieved 2026-07-29); definition pending editorial review. Definition drafted by AI (@cf/meta/llama-3.3-70b-instruct-fp8-fast) and auto-approved by rule on 2026-07-30; pending editor spot-check.
Equivalents & related
Near equivalent
da bọc xương
nothing but skin and bones; mere bag of bones
Tiếng Việt
Near equivalent
skin and bones
Extremely thin or emaciated
English · via da bọc xương
Lighter cards are two steps away in the meaning graph — equivalents of equivalents, reached via the entry shown on the card.
Common questions
What does “bag of bones” mean?
A person who is very thin or frail Literally: a bag containing bones
Is “bag of bones” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.
What is the closest equivalent?
“da bọc xương” (Tiếng Việt) — near equivalent.