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