Crossword Genius

Something to give the dog, thirsty, with no water (4,3)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

bone dry

I'm a little stuck... Click here to teach me more about this clue!

'something to give the dog' is the definition.
I can't tell whether this defines the answer.

'thirsty with no water' is the wordplay.
'thirsty' becomes 'dry' (similar in meaning).
'with' says to put letters next to each other.
'no water' becomes 'bone' (I am not sure about this - if you are sure you should give a lot more credence to this answer).
'dry' after 'bone' is 'BONE-DRY'.

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for bone dry that I've seen before include "Parched" , "Lacking any moisture" , "thoroughly dehydrated" , "Thus after air bombardment, perhaps" , "Well-aired" .)

I've seen this clue in the Evening Standard.
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