skinny as a rail
Bony and lean
Skinny as a rail describes someone extremely thin, evoking the narrow profile of a fence rail or railroad track.
The comparison emphasizes leanness to the point of boniness: She was skinny as a rail but could eat more than anyone I knew.
The phrase is informal and often affectionate rather than critical.
- thin as a rakeExtremely slender, underweight
- scrawnyUnattractively thin and bony
- bonyThin, with protruding skeleton
- gauntLean from deprivation
- reedVibrating sliver for woodwinds
thin · emaciated · twiggy · lean · wiry · pencil-thin · paper thin · lanky · skeletal · spindly · stick figure · bag of bones · underweight · pipe · stick · beanpole · bean pole thin · rib