pare to the bone

pare to the bone (third-person singular simple present pares to the bone, present participle paring to the bone, simple past and past participle pared to the bone)

1. (transitive) To pare down to an extreme degree.
   • 2002, L. M. Cullen, The Brandy Trade Under the Ancien Régime, page 246:

     Distilling costs were already pared to the bone, and the serious credit crisis in Bordeaux in 1789 first put at risk those houses which were already short of resources.