http://www.thefreedictionary.com/bare bones

bare bones - The basic elements or essentials. Like "outlined the bare bones of the proposal"

bare bone 沒有肉的骨頭，意思就是沒有油水，沒有資源，沒有財富，沒有好處等。具體措辭需要看上下文。

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Note added at 14 mins (2016-09-25 08:19:09 GMT)
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"when the dogs had nothing left to eat but bare bones chewed over and over, .."


The Piano Maker - Page 236 - Google Books Re
Kurt Palka - 2015 - ‎Fictionsult
https://books.google.com/books?isbn=0771071280
She swung the axe and chopped out what was left of the bones and cracked the ... when the dogs had nothing left to eat but bare bones chewed over and over, ..

食之无肉，弃之有味！

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Note added at 2天4小时 (2016-09-27 12:16:42 GMT)
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chew over a bare bone: it's a metaphor, means it's difficult to make a decision on giving up or keeping it. if to give up, there is still taste, if to keep it, there is no meat on it.