lean and hungry look

Cultural  

1. A phrase from the play Julius Caesar, by William Shakespeare. Caesar remarks, concerning one of the men conspiring against him, “Yon Cassius has a lean and hungry look.” Caesar means that Cassius looks dangerously dissatisfied, as if he were starved for power.

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Example Sentences

When I read, I conjured images of the characters, and Frank, with his lean and hungry look, reminded me of Cassius in Julius Caesar.

From Literature

Yond “senior official” has a lean and hungry look.

From The Wall Street Journal

The lean and hungry look that frightened Julius Caesar frightened our mothers too.

From BBC

Yond Cassius has a lean and hungry look.

From New York Times

While I look back fondly at the era of the Greenstreets and the Big Daddies, I will, when the election finally rolls around, be putting my trust in the other bloke, the guy with the lean and hungry look.

From Slate