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Bare bones

Idiomatic Phrase
Pronunciation

Understanding ARPABET Pronunciation

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The pronunciation guide uses the ARPABET phonetic system—the same system used in speech recognition and text-to-speech applications.

Vowel Examples:
AE1 = cat, bat
EH1 = bed, head
IY1 = see, me
OW1 = go, boat
UW1 = boot, do
Stress Numbers:
0 = no stress (unstressed)
1 = primary stress (loud)
2 = secondary stress (medium)
Example:
AH0 TH IY1 N AH0
= a-THEE-na (Athena)

The stressed syllable (marked with 1) is pronounced louder and clearer than others.

Quick Definition

The absolute essential framework or core components of a structure, argument, or poem, stripped of ornamentation; often invoked in minimalist poetics to highlight raw, unadorned meaning and structural clarity.

Detailed Definition
Suggests minimalism. Poetry favors it for stark truth, stripping illusions in minimalist or confessional styles.
Example
Example in poetry:
A poet might present the bare bones of a story before clothing it in memory; In an elegy, the bare bones of biography cannot capture the loved one's spirit; The phrase suits a poem stripped of ornament and sentiment; A teacher might note that a draft gives the bare bones of the argument but not its music.
Additional Notes
Bare bones means the essential structure stripped of ornament. It is especially useful in poetry because it can refer both to literal skeleton imagery and to style: a poem, story, or argument reduced to essentials. The phrase suits minimalist writing, elegy, poverty, archaeology, and truth-telling. Students should observe whether the stripping away feels honest, bleak, beautiful, or merely impoverished.
Also Known As
Bare-bones
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