dry as a bone
Utterly without moisture
Dry as a bone describes something completely without moisture.
Bones left in the sun bleach and desiccate entirely, making them a natural image for total dryness.
The phrase applies to weather, soil, throats, or anything that should contain liquid but doesn't: The creek bed was dry as a bone by August.
It can also describe wit or humor delivered without emotion.
To leave behind completely
- droughtProlonged water scarcity
- dustbowlDrought-stricken eroded region
- outbackRemote interior wilderness
- wastelandUninhabitable barren region
steppe · savannah · scrubland · badlands · dunes · sandstorm · sunbaked · waterless
Thoroughly dehydrated
- shriveledContracted from moisture loss
- wizenedShrunken from age
- brittleLiable to shatter
- crispyBrittle and snapping
crumbly · sapless · juiceless · leathery · papery · mummified · husk · jerky
Extremely dry or thirsty
- dehydratedSeverely lacking moisture
- cottonmouthVenomous semiaquatic pit viper
- thirstNeed for fluid
- gaspingBreathing in sharp gulps
raspy · hoarse · unquenched · thirstiness
desert
To leave behind completely
- droughtProlonged water scarcity
- dustbowlDrought-stricken eroded region
- outbackRemote interior wilderness
wasteland · steppe · savannah · scrubland · badlands · dunes · sandstorm · sunbaked · waterless · rainless
desiccated
Thoroughly dehydrated
crispy · crumbly · sapless · juiceless · leathery · papery · mummified · husk · jerky · raisin
parched
Extremely dry or thirsty
- dehydratedSeverely lacking moisture
- cottonmouthVenomous semiaquatic pit viper
- thirstNeed for fluid
gasping · raspy · hoarse · unquenched · thirstiness
barren
Unable to produce
bleak · empty · inhospitable · sterile · ghostly · forlorn · lonely · isolated · deserted · stark
- folk sayingsproverb, adage, maxim, folk saying, old saying
dry as a bonesoaking wet
Saturated with liquid
drenched · saturated · waterlogged · sopping wet · dripping wet
dry, bone, dries, dried, drying, dryer, drier, driest, dryness