to the marrow
2
8.8
- idiom
- Literature
:
hasta los huesos
- It is a dark magic that goes straight to the marrow.
- chilled to the marrow
Examples
-
The cold wind cut through my jacket, chilling me to the marrow as I walked home.
-
The damp, snapping wind iced the bones through to the marrow.
Fiction book (1999) -
Still, he was sad, tired to the marrow.
Fiction book (1995) -
"I thought you listened to me," he complained, wounded to the marrow.
Fiction book (1999) -
The shriek that woke him was his own, and he sat straight up in his big, warm bed, suddenly chilled to the marrow.
Fiction book (1992) -
The silent parade on the other side of the road had ended, the night chill had penetrated to the marrow of her bones, and she was close to shouting.
Fiction book (1991) -
The higher he climbed, the sharper blew the icy gales, freezing him to the marrow.
Fiction book (1995) -
The horror movie was chilling, leaving me tense to the marrow with fear.
-
She felt the news settle in her heart, painful to the marrow.
Synonyms
590
1.8
In a way that shows very strong feeling, for example sadness or respect
Antonyms
How Deep
Surface Forms
Morphology
to + the + marrow
If a learner knows the noun 'marrow' as the inner core or essential part, the phrase 'to the marrow' transparently extends that literal sense to mean 'to the deepest degree' (akin to 'to the bone'). The construction follows a straightforward compositional pattern and has close analogues in other languages, so the meaning is recoverable from the constituents.
Etymology
The phrase to the marrow likely comes from the image of bone marrow, the soft center inside bones. Saying something reaches to the marrow gives the clear picture of a feeling or cold going into the very center, so it now means being affected 'very deeply' or 'very strongly'.