Frank J. Wilstach, comp. A Dictionary of Similes. 1916.
Lean (Adjective)
Lean as a dog in Lent.
—Anonymous
Lean as Sancho’s ass.
—Anonymous
Leene was his hors as is a rake.
—Geoffrey Chaucer
Lean as a lath.
—Thomas Heywood
Lean as a backgammon board.
—Walter Savage Landor
Lean as a lantern.
—William Langland
Lean like bull-beef.
—Richard Mather
Lean as a skeleton.
—Thomas Shadwell
Leaner than fleshless misery.
—Percy Bysshe Shelley
As lean as a lizard.
—James Smith
Lean as death.
—Alfred Tennyson