My comments:
Bone-dry simply means extremely dry. Dead bodies of animals under the scorching sun in the desert get mummified, as they dry up, gradually losing all water and liquid in the flesh and innards till they are dried down to the bones.
I guess bare bones are always dry in comparison to bones covered with flesh and blood. Hence the phrase bone-dry readily makes sense.
Apt, of course, to describe the surface of a desert as bone-dry.
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About the author:
Zhang Xin(張欣) has been with China Daily since 1988, when he graduated from Beijing Foreign Studies University. Write him at: zhangxin@chinadaily.com.cn, or raise a question for potential use in a future column.