pare (something) to the bone

pare (something) to the bone

To reduce or decrease something significantly. A noun or pronoun can be used between "pare" and "to." The arts program at my alma mater has been pared to the bone. Our department needs to pare our spending to the bone this quarter.See also: bone, pare

cut, pare, etc. something to the ˈbone

reduce something to the point where no further reduction is possible: We have cut the costs of the business to the bone, but they are still too high for us to make any profit.See also: bone, something