If someone is as thin as a rake or thin as a stick, they are very thin. He was as thin as a rake as though he were suffering from some terrible disease. I'd always been as thin as a stick but in London my weight went up to more than 12 stone. Note: Other nouns such as rail or lath can be used instead of rake or stick. She was blue-eyed, tall, thin as a rail, pale as paper and very young. Note: You can also say that someone is stick thin or rake thin. They are well made clothes designed for real women, not stick thin size 10s.