BEING SKINNY, THIN, AND FLACO

When his friends pointed out my thinness, my grandfather would protest and grow angry. Being thin was once a telltale sign of poverty: people were thin because they ate very little. This is no longer true, but language continues to cling to the idea of thinness as evidence of something physically or economically amiss. Both Spanish and English have a trove of expressions capturing this notion:

• Spanish:
  estar flaco como un palillo (como un fideo, un espárrago, una lombriz, una raspa, una escoba, en los huesos), ser un saco de huesos

• English:
  be as thin as a lath (or a rake), be a bag of bones (a shrimp), skinny as a rail, twig, snake, bean, pole, matchstick

For example:

• La novia de Víctor está más flaca que un palillo.
  Victor’s girlfriend is as thin as a lath.

— “Pequeñito hasta las lindes del enanismo, flaco como una escoba…” M. Vargas Llosa, La tía Julia y el escribidor, 1977. Perú. || “… caminaba doblado, y flaco como un alfiler…” Osvaldo Soriano, A sus plantas rendido un león, 1986. Arg. || “… narizón, de orejas despegadas, flaco como un fideo…” Alejandro Jodorowsky, Donde mejor canta un pájaro, 1992. Chile.