scraggy

scraggy

1. Bony, scrawny, or particularly lean. The alley was deserted save for a few scraggy street urchins begging for spare change. The main course was nothing but a couple boiled potatoes with a scraggy cut of beef.
2. Jagged or rough. The birds make their nests in the scraggy sides of the huge cliffs. The architect has left the stone scraggy and unpolished to give the building a more naturalistic look.
3. Messy or unkempt. I had a bit of a scraggy beard after the weekend of camping. I can't believe he showed up to the meeting in such scraggy clothes.
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms.

scraggy

(ˈskrægi)
mod. bony. Who is that scraggy dame?
McGraw-Hill's Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions
See also:
  • meat on (one's) bones
  • a lean patch
  • street urchin
  • lean
  • put (some) meat on (one's) bones
  • couldn't fight (one's) way out of a paper bag
  • couldn't fight your way out of a paper bag
  • couldn't fight (one's) way out of a wet paper bag
  • cred
  • incline forward
References in periodicals archive
And yesterday Scraggy was settling into pastures new at Drum Farm Visitor Centre, Drumnadrochit, near Loch Ness.
IT'S THE WACKY WORLD OF NATURE; Taransay's lamb beats the chop
Duff said: "The summer of '94, I was six stone with scraggy hair and whiter than that wall there.
LIONS DON'T HAVE THE HEART; JUST 7 DAYS TO WORLD CUP KICK-OFF; Duff gives England no chance
Ed revealed celebrated Grammy with his A scraggy creature whiny screeching.
They've had their Phil of moaning customers
Even the two friendly ones Scraggy and Chirpy, yes I give them names, have gone.
Must save our garden birds; Letters
Otherwise, I could be found searching for books at the now defunct Everton Library at the top of St Domingo Road, once called the 'Jewel on the Hill', but now nothing more than a Premier Inn for scraggy pigeons that nest in what was once the domain of characters like air ace Biggles at one end of the scale, and Noddy and Big Ears at the other.
Sunday memories
When it's looking scraggy and unkempt, it must be worn down for draggedthrough-a-hedge-backwards chic.
Is it wine o'clock yet? The trials and tribulations of getting through the day as a working mum
Her feathers are a bit scraggy on her head, this could be due to moulting or due to being outside straying for a while.
Can you give a loving home to these pets?
While Mr Bethell is prepared to foot the bill to have the scraggy ancient hedge replanted and tidied up, the two parties are at loggerheads over the border.
The most expensive hedge in the country
Bleak in tone and subject matter, it also reduces the towns and countryside of West Yorkshire to a scraggy, soulsucking vision of hell.
CATCH ME ATCH ME A DADDY (15) ..... 7 DAYS FILMS 7 DAYS FILMS
This week the scraggy chickens of under-funded public services have come home to roost.
Tax U-turn needed to avoid the collapse of underfunded services
ANGEL OLSEN - BURN YOUR FIRE FOR NO WITNESS Finding beauty in lo-fi, scraggy production, this fiery LP mixes short, sharp bursts of adrenaline with darker, more introspective moments.
CD Reviews
Lila once said she went on her first date after taking pity on the "scraggy youth who had just been released from a concentration camp".
'A most devoted couple'
The Californian beauty is soooooooo much nicer than the scraggy lot he has been pursuing since splitting with Cheryl in 2010.
Ashley has sparkle for Markle
I have timed this trip very well because I flew out over Halloween and therefore missed having to rake through my wardrobe to find a scraggy old wig, rip an old dress to shreds and cover my face in fake blood to attend a fancy dress party which I hate.
I love escaping the not-so-great British winter
Oh, dear old South Side Hill, old rugged, scraggy hill,
Dear, Old South Side Hill