| 词汇 | be cut to the bone |
| 释义 | Idiom be cut to the bone if a service or an amount of money is cut to the bone, it is reduced as much as possible.How can we create quality programmes when our funding has been cut to the bone? cut (someone something) to the bone1. To cut or slice someone or something deeply. It was clear he needed to go to the emergency room—his arm had been cut to the bone. Mom asked me to cut the meat to the bone. 2. To reduce or decrease something significantly. The arts program at my alma mater has been cut to the bone. Our department needs to cut our spending to the bone this quarter. cut something to the bone1. Lit. to slice deep to a bone. The knife cut John to the bone. He had to be sewed up. Cut each slice of ham to the bone. Then each slice will be as big as possible. 2. Fig. to cut down severely (on something). (To the bone emphasizes the severity of the cutting.) We cut our expenses to the bone and are still losing money. Congress had to cut expenditures to the bone in order to balance the budget. cut to the boneSeverely reduced, as in During the Depression Grandmother's housekeeping money was cut to the bone. The phrase to the bone, literally meaning "through the flesh to the inmost part or core," dates from about 1400. This expression in effect means that everything extraneous has been cut away so that only bone remains. cut to the boneCOMMON If resources or costs are cut to the bone, they are reduced as much as they possibly can be. We managed to break even by cutting costs to the bone. Note: Verbs such as pare, shave, and strip are sometimes used instead of cut. The universities feel they have already been pared to the bone by government cuts. Eric had taken on the competition by shaving his running costs to the bone and offering the lowest prices possible. |
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