bone

a bag of bones: seebag.

the bare bones: seebare.

be skin and bones: seeskin.

a bone of contention a subject or issue over which there is continuing disagreement.

☞ The idea is of a bone thrown into the midst of a number of dogs and causing a fight between them.

a bone in your leg (or head) a (feigned) reason for idleness. informal

close to (or near) the bone

1 (of a remark) penetrating and accurate to the point of causing hurt or discomfort.

2 (of a joke or story) likely to cause offence because near the limit of decency.

cut (or pare) something to the bone reduce something to the bare minimum.

dry as a bone: seedry.

have a bone on have an erection of the penis. slang

2010Stephen HunterDead Zero Maybe the great Bob Lee Swagger has a bone on, and he's come down here to Chinatown to get it off.

have a bone to pick with someone have reason to disagree or be annoyed with someone. informal

☞ A bone to pick (or gnaw) has been a metaphor for a problem or difficulty to be thought over since the mid 16th century.

in your bones felt, understood, or believed very deeply or instinctively.

jump someone's bones: seejump.

make no bones about something have no hesitation in stating or dealing with something, however unpleasant, awkward, or distasteful it is.

☞ This expression, which dates back to the 16th century, may originally have referred to eating a bowl of soup in which no bones were found and which was therefore easily eaten.

make old bones; seeold.

not a - bone in your body not the slightest trace of the specified quality.

2014Stephen MayWake up Happy Every Day I haven't got a Sapphic bone in my body, worse luck.

point the bone at betray someone; cause someone's downfall. Australian

☞ The phrase comes from an Australian Aboriginal ritual, in which a bone is pointed at a victim so as to curse them and cause their sickness or death.

to the bone

1 (of a wound) so deep as to expose the victim's bone.

2 affecting a person in a very penetrating way.

to your bones (or to the bone) in a very fundamental way (used to emphasize that a person possesses a specified quality as an essential or innate aspect of their personality).

2003Eve Gloria is known today to be a conservative to her bones-a true monarchist.

work your fingers to the bone work very hard.