cupboard is bare



cupboard is bare

1. Literally, there is no or very little food in the house. Often pluralized. I wish I had something to offer you to eat, but we haven't done our grocery shopping this week, and I'm afraid the cupboards are bare.
2. By extension, resources—especially money—are very tight or nonexistent. Often pluralized. The government has promised to help alleviate the strain on those out of work, but I don't know how it will accomplish that when its own cupboards are bare. The school district's cupboard is bare after federal funding was cut by 20%.
See also: bare, cupboard

Common Names:

NameGenderPronouncedUsage
OrvalAWR-vəlEnglish
TaruTAH-rooFinnish
MerlynMUR-linEnglish
Zdenko-Slovak, Slovene, Croatian
Ronnie['rɔni]
Tucker['tʌkə]