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

Yond Cassius has a lean and hungry look.

From New York Times • Oct. 8, 2012

The first impression of Ms. Haberle as Phaedra is of a tough broad with a lean and hungry look: Elaine Stritch played by a middle-aged Audrey Hepburn.

From New York Times • Oct. 29, 2011

The new lean and hungry look makes for lousy caricature.

From Time Magazine Archive

Powell has the proverbial lean and hungry look.

From Time Magazine Archive

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 "Bad Boy" by Walter Dean Myers