to the bone
Down to marrow
To the bone intensifies whatever it modifies, suggesting something that penetrates deeply or affects completely—right down to the skeleton.
When you're chilled to the bone, the cold seems to reach your very core.
If something is cut to the bone, it has been reduced to the absolute minimum, stripped of anything extra.
The phrase often emphasizes thoroughness or extremity: worked to the bone, rotten to the bone.
- deepFar from surface
- cut to the quickInjure emotionally at core
- skeletalOf or like bones
- marrowSoft bone interior
- rawIn original state
bare · laid bare · cold · frozen solid · gnaw · essential · pain · visceral · whittled · exposed · chill · cut · lean · ache · pared · thorough · penetrating · flayed
- completenesscomplete, completely, entire, totally, total
to the bonesuperficially
At surface level only
on the surface · skin-deep · barely · slightly · marginally
bone, bones, bony, boned, boning, boniness, debone, deboned, rawboned