Skin and bones (9) Crossword Clue
Answer: EMACIATED (9 letters)
The answer to the crossword clue Skin and bones with 9 letters is "EMACIATED".Emaciated describes a person or animal who is extremely thin, often to the point of appearing as just skin and bones, usually due to severe malnutrition or illness. It conveys a state of extreme weakness and frailty caused by lack of proper nourishment over time.
Why “Emaciated” Fits
The clue asks for a single word (9 letters) meaning “skin and bones.” The answer, EMACIATED, fits perfectly:
- Skin and bones: Emaciated describes someone extremely thin, wasted, or gaunt, reduced almost to “skin and bones,” often due to malnutrition, illness, or neglect.
- Direct match: With 9 letters, emaciated fits the clue’s enumeration exactly.
- Precise synonym: It conveys a more severe condition than simply “thin,” matching the dramatic imagery of the clue.
The term emaciated has long been a descriptor of wasting:
- Origin and usage: From Latin emaciare (“to make lean, waste away”), it entered English to describe states of severe thinness.
- Contexts: Common in medical reports, famine descriptions, and literary depictions of extreme poverty or illness.
- Examples: “The prisoner was emaciated after months of hardship,” or “The refugee children were emaciated from lack of food.” Both invoke the stark “skin and bones” concept.
In quick crosswords, clues that say “skin and bones” signal a strong, vivid synonym rather than a plain description:
- Other options like gaunt (5), skeletal (8), or scrawny (7) may come to mind, but only emaciated (9) matches the exact enumeration and intensity.
- The clue’s figurative tone points beyond the literal, seeking a more formal term that crossword solvers are expected to know.
- With both precise length and meaning, emaciated is the textbook answer.
