From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishcut something to the bonecut something to the boneREDUCEto reduce costs, services etc as much as possible Shops cut prices to the bone in the January sales. → bone
Examples from the Corpus
cut something to the bone• The company laid off employees and cut expenses to the bone.• His mockery, which he meant as love, frightened and cut her to the bone.• Oh, Peggy, to hear you say that ... that you're lonely, cuts me to the bone.• Anything would have been better than this ice-cold contempt that cut her to the bone.• These icy cold droplets seemed to cut through to the bone as if to punish him for the way he was.• It had a lethal edge now which cut her to the bone. 