▪ I. elbow, n.
(ˈɛlbəʊ)
Forms: 1 elnboᵹa, eleboᵹa, elboᵹa, 2–6 elbowe, 3 elbou, 7 elboe, 7– elbow; also (Sc.) 6 elbok, 8 elbuck.
[A Com. Teut. compound: OE. ęlnboᵹa = Du. elleboog, OHG. elinbogo (MHG. ellenboge, mod.G. ellen-, ellbogen), ON. ǫlnboge (Icel. ölnbogi, ölbogi, Da. albue):—OTeut. *alino-bogon-, f. *alinâ arm (see ell) + *bogon- bending = bow n.1]
1. a. The outer part of the joint between the fore and the upper arm.
| c 1000 ælfric Voc. in Wr.-Wülcker 158 Cubitum, fædm betwux elboᵹa and handwyrste. c 1150 Voc. ibid. 536 Ulna, elbowe. a 1300 Cursor M. 8086 Þair armes hari wit hirpild hid War sette til elbous in þair side. a 1300 Fragm. 322 in Popular Treat. on Sc. 139 Thelbowes to the schare. c 1340 Gaw. & Gr. Knt. 184 A much berd..Watz euesed al vmbe-torne, abof his elbowes. c 1440 Promp. Parv. 137 Elbowe, cubitus. 1588 A. King tr. Canisius' Catech. 138 Wae be vnto thame..quha sewis soft kods to putt vnder euerie Elbok. a 1613 Overbury A Wife (1638) 101 Turnes..from one Elbow to another. 1676 G. Etherege Man of Mode i. i. (1684) 11 He was yesterday at the Play, with a pair of Gloves Up to his Elbows. 1714 Lady M. W. Montague Lett. lxxxv. 140 In..a great crowd..people..knock others with their elbows. 1786 Burns The Ordination vii, To see our elbucks wheep And a' like lamb-tails flyin. 1797 Coleridge Christabel i, She..on her elbow did recline To look at the lady Geraldine. 1879 Stainer Music of Bible 122 Irish bagpipes are inflated by the elbow, Scotch by the mouth. |
b. The point resembling an elbow in the shoulder or hock of quadrupeds.
| 1607 Topsell Four-f. Beasts 317 The Curb..is a long swelling beneath the elbow of the hough. 1789 W. Marshall Gloucester (E.D.S.), Elbows, the shoulder-points of cattle. 1908 Animal Managem. 330 For the horse, a small sausage-shaped pillow, long enough to surround the pastern..will be found to prevent the elbow touching the ground when lying down. 1908 [see elbow-brushing in 5]. |
2. transf. Anything resembling an elbow.
a. A sharp bend in the course of a river, road, etc.
| 1591 Percivall Sp. Dict., Ahocinarse el rio..to run with turnings or elbows. 1618 Bp. Hall Serm. V. 117 The current..speeds forward from one elbow of earth unto another. 1762–71 H. Walpole Vertue's Anecd. Paint. (1786) IV. 297 The elbows of serpentine rivers. 1792 A. Young Trav. France 99 The road..presents from an elbow the finest view of a town I have ever seen. 1861 E. A. Beaufort Egypt. Sepul. II. xxiii. 311 The ravine..turns with a sudden elbow round the end of mount Silpius. |
b. A forward or outward projection; a corner.
| 1626 Bacon Sylva §472 Fruit-trees or Vines, set upon a Wall against the Sun, between Elbows and Buttresses of Stone, ripen more than upon a plain Wall. 1691 T. H[ale] Acc. New Invent. p. cvii, Some Elbows of Wharfs..being taken away. 1756 Nugent Gr. Tour III. 206 Ancona..The name of this city is said to be owing to its situation, because of the elbow (ἀγκών)..which the shore makes in that place. 1829 Southey Sir T. More (1831) I. 120 You cross a wall and the elbow of a large tree that covers it. 1830 W. Phillips Mt. Sinai iv. 504 Departing day Behind the mountain's elbow disappear'd. 1876 Blackmore Cripps II. xiv. 217 The elbow of a hedge jutted forth upon the common. |
c. Mechanics. An angle in a tube, etc.; a short piece of pipe bent at an angle to join two long straight pieces.
| 1777 Phil. Trans. LXVII. 643 As the elbow made a right angle, the tube itself was of course horizontal. 1874 Knight Amer. Dict. Mech., Elbow, 1. The junction of two parts having a bent joint. A knee or toggle joint. 2. A bend, as of a stove-pipe. 1880 MacCormac Antisept. Surg. 147 The tube should..have no elbows. |
d. Arch. (see
quot.)
| 1823 P. Nicholson Pract. Builder 584 Elbows of a Window, the two flanks of panelled work, one under each shutter. 1875 Parker Gloss. Archit., Elbows, the projections on the side of stalls. 1876 Gwilt Archit. Gloss., Elbow, the upright side which flanks any panelled work, as in windows below the shutters, etc. |
e. Naut. (see
quot.)
| 1769 Falconer Dict. Marine (1789) Cable tourné..a foul hawse; a cross or elbow in hawse. 1867 Smyth Sailor's Word-bk. s.v., Elbow in the hawse. When a ship, being moored in a tideway, swings twice the wrong way, thereby causing the cables to take half a round turn on each other. |
f. dial. (see
quot., and
cf. elbow-health in 5).
| 1877 E. Peacock N.-W. Linc. Gloss. (E.D.S.), Elbow, the conical hollow in the bottom of a wine-bottle. |
† 3. transf. An arm of a chair, made to support the elbow.
Obs. exc. in
comb. elbow-chair.
| 1611 Cotgr. s.v. Accoudoir, Vne chaire à accoudoirs, a chaire with elbowes. 1679 Marriage of Charles II, 3 A great Chair with elbows. 1750 Carte Hist. Eng. II. 14 Elbows (as the sides of chairs are now called). 1784 Cowper Task i. 60 But elbows still were wanting; these, some say, An alderman of Cripplegate contriv'd. |
4. Phrases:
a. at the, one's elbow(s: close by, very near; in close attendance; also
fig.; so
from the, one's elbow: away from one's side.
b. up to the elbows:
lit.; also
fig. engrossed in work, excessively busy.
c. to be out at elbow(s: to have a coat worn out at the elbows, to be ragged, poor, in bad condition; hence, in same sense,
out-at-elbowed adj. (
nonce-wd.). So, in contrary sense,
in at elbows (rare).
d. † to scratch, rub the elbow: to show oneself pleased, to chuckle.
e. to shake the elbow: to play at dice (
arch).
† knight of the elbow: a gambler.
f. † to suck at (one's) elbow elbow: ? to play the parasite, sponge upon (one).
g. more power to one's elbow: may you (he, etc.) succeed (in a laudable enterprise).
h. to lift one's (or the) elbow: to drink immoderately. Similarly
to bend the elbow;
to crook the elbow: see
crook v.
1 1 d.
| a. 1548 Ld. Somerset Epist. Scots 243 Ye haue youre enemies..at your elbowe. 1581 Mulcaster Positions vi. (1887) 47 In the elder yeares, reason at the elbow must serue the student. Ibid. xxxvii. 143 You are not able to spare him from your elbow. 1698 Vanbrugh æsop ii. i. (1730) 230 Talk of the Devil and he's at your elbow. 1840–1 Dickens Old C. Shop i, I found at my elbow a pretty little girl. |
| b. 1601 Shakes. Jul. C. iii. i. 107 Let vs bathe our hands in Caesars blood Vp to the Elbowes. 1883 A. Robson Dead Letter ii. v, Up to our Elbows making Damson Jam. |
| c. 1623 Shakes. Meas. for M. ii. i. 61 He cannot [speak] Sir; he's out at Elbow. 1771 Smollett Humph. Cl. (1815) 55 Sir Ulic Mackilligut..is said to be much out at elbows. 1841 Thackeray Second Funeral Napoleon i, Seedy out-at-elbowed coats. a 1847 Mrs. Sherwood Lady of Manor I. vi. 244 He was himself just now so terribly out at elbows, that he could not command a hundred pounds. 1865 Carlyle Fredk. Gt. III. viii. iv. 17 Several things known to be out-at-elbows in that Country. 1872 Geo. Eliot Middlem. xxxviii. (D.) Pay that hardly keeps him in at elbows. 1885 Times 28 May, There is an out-at-elbows look about some quarters of Dublin. |
| d. 1588 Shakes. L.L.L. v. ii. 109 One rub'd his elboe thus, and fleer'd, and swore, A better speech was never heard before. 1598 E. Guilpin Skial. (1878) 25 He'le..scratch the elbow too To see two butchers curres fight. |
| e. 1705 Hearne Collect. 26 Nov. (1885–6) I. 100 Money which..he squander'd away in shaking his Elbow. 1760 T. Brown Wks. II. 46 (D.) Knight of the elbow. 1826 J. Wilson Noct. Ambr. Wks. 1855 I. 127 Many good and great men have shook the elbow. |
| f. 1548 Hall Chron. (1809) 312 He had many..that daily sucked at his Elbowe. |
| g. 1832 S. Lover Leg. Ireland 1st Ser. (ed. 2) 133 More power to your honour's elbow. 1860 [see power n.1 2]. 1928 F. M. Ford Let. 5 Mar. (1965) 177 Anyhow more power to your elbow! 1956 A. Wilson Anglo-Saxon Attitudes ii. i. 196 Some Members of Parliament..are to ask questions..about the unfortunate mishandling of Mr. Cressett's market-garden. More power to their elbow, I say. |
| h. 1823 Grose Dict. Vulgar T. s.v. lift, To lift one's hand to one's head; to drink to excess, or to drink drams. To lift or raise one's elbow; the same. 1915 Conrad Victory i. vi. 130, I would watch them lifting their elbows at my expense. 1928 Daily Express 7 Mar. 15/4 Many a young man who has been lifting his elbow too frequently in Dublin is packed off to Melleray for a cure. 1938 D. Runyon Take it Easy xiii. 247 A great change comes over Haystack Duggeler. He stops bending his elbow and helps Hattie cook and wash the dishes. 1939 J. B. Priestley Let People Sing iv. 86, I only hope to goodness this couple we're picking up this afternoon don't lift the elbow too much. 1967 Coast to Coast 1965–6 145 He's not much chop. Too fond of bending the elbow. |
5. attrib. and
Comb., as
elbow-cushion,
elbow-guard,
elbow-point; also
elbow-bombard [
transl. It. bombardo cubito], a kind of cannon in which the breech was at right angles with the bore;
elbow-brushing (see
quot.);
elbow-cloak, ? a cloak reaching down to the elbows only;
elbow-deep a. (see
quot.;
cf. 2
f. and
elbow-health);
elbow-health,
fig., a bumper;
elbow-length a., reaching to the elbow;
elbow-piece, (
a) in plate armour, a covering for the juncture of the plates meeting at the elbow; (
b) a piece of tubing forming an elbow;
elbow-pipe, a pipe having a bend resembling an elbow;
cf. 2 c;
elbow-polish = elbow-grease;
elbow-shaker (see
quot.);
elbow-shaking vbl. n. and ppl. a., playing at dice;
elbow-sleeve, a sleeve reaching only to the elbow;
elbow-wind, a wind blowing sideways. Also
elbow-chair,
grease, -joint, -room.
| 1881 Greener Gun 20 It was called the *elbow bombard. |
| 1908 Animal Managem. 330 *Elbow brushing in the camel is a serious condition resulting from the friction of the elbow pad against the side in animals which are tied in at the elbow and whose toes are turned out. |
| c 1612 Rowlands Spy Knaves, An *elbow cloake, because wide hose and garters May be apparent in the lower quarters. |
| 1653 Milton Hirelings Wks. (1851) 366 A pulpited Divine..a lollard..over his *elbow-cushion. |
| 1642 T. Taylor God's Judgem. ii. vii. 102 No man was able to contend with him in his..*Elbow-deep Healths. |
| 1874 Boutell Arms & Arm. 190 *Elbow-guards, or coudières..were rarely adopted till after the year 1300. |
| 1622 Middleton, &c. Old Law v. i, The nimble fencer..that..gave me Those *elbow-healths. |
| [1897 Sears, Roebuck Catal. 231/2 This length is very stylish, and known as the *elbow length.] 1904 Westm. Gaz. 26 May 10/1 Fashion launched on us the mandate that all sleeves must be elbow length. 1908 Ibid. 9 Jan. 4/1, I find for everyday wear the elbow-length cream ‘Viyella’ gloves hard to beat. 1932 D. C. Minter Mod. Needlecraft 148/2 An elbow-length sleeve. 1967 E. Short Embroidery & Fabric Collage ii. 54 Gloves..elbow length with more elaborate decoration for evening wear. |
| 1777 Phil. Trans. LXVII. 643 This tube was connected to the receiver of the air-pump by means of an *elbow-piece of brass. |
| 1861 W. Fairbairn Iron viii. 166 An *elbow-pipe..establishes a communication..between the blast-pipe and the tuyere. 1883 Specif. Alnwick & Cornhill Rlwy. 22 Proper elbow pipes and connections to be made with existing drains. |
| 1859 Geo. Eliot A. Bede i. vi. (D.) Genuine *elbow-polish, as Mrs. Poyser called it. |
| 1785 Cowper Task iv. 44 Bored with *elbow-points through both his sides. |
| 1725 New Cant. Dict., *Elbow-shaker, a Gamester or Sharper. |
| 1700 Prol. to Farquhar's Const. Couple (D.), Your *elbow-shaking fool that lives by's wits. 1849 Thackeray Pendennis (1875) 594 ‘It's been cut into by your master, with his helbow-shakin' and his bill discountin'.’ |
| 1875 L. Troubridge Life amongst Troubridges (1966) 117 A pretty white muslin with..*elbow sleeves, plissées with lace. 1899 Daily News 24 June 4/6 Some of the smart people compromise by adopting elbow sleeves with very long gloves rucked up the whole length of the fore-arm. Ibid. 22 July 4/3 Elbow sleeves have come in with the heat. 1908 L. M. Montgomery Anne of Green Gables xiii. 130 Diana is having a new dress made with elbow sleeves. |
| a 1722 Lisle Husb. (1752) 113 A face or back-wind signifies little, nor the *elbow-wind neither to peas and vetches. |
Add:
[1.] c. An attack of nervous stiffening of the playing arm suffered by tennis players, which reduces the effectiveness of their shots. Usu. as
the elbow.
Cf. yips n. pl. Not to be confused with
tennis elbow s.v. tennis n. 3 a.
| 1964 M. Slapak in Armstrong & Tucker Injury in Sport xiv. 219 Each ‘elbow’ must be treated on its own merits, the problem posed by a Davis Cup player with a mild attack and a club player with the same injury being vastly different. 1977 Tennis World Sept. 17/1 If a player is nervous he ‘muffs’, ‘flubs’ or ‘blows’ his shots, and is said to be suffering from ‘the elbow’ or just ‘elbow’... It refers to a psychosomatic complaint: a miserable tightness in the racket arm at crucial moments which makes a player pull his punches. 1985 Times 26 Feb. 29/1 Tennis players suffer from ‘the elbow’, a nervous stiffening of the playing arm which makes for an instant loss of touch and accuracy. |
[5.] elbow-pad.
| 1904 Official Basket Ball Rules (U.S. Amateur Athletic Union) 192 (Advt.), Spalding's Leather Covered Pads... Can be readily attached to any part of a jersey... No. 2. *Elbow Pad. 1968 P. E. Hartman Lacrosse Fundamentals ix. 111 Football forearm pads, elbow pads and football shoulder pads have been substituted with success for other types of padding. 1986 Sunday Tel. (Colour Suppl.) 31 Aug. 19/2 He has forearm pads, elbow pads, bicep pads and knee-stabilisers (to stop his knees being broken from a sideways blow). |
▸
Brit. colloq.to give (a person) the elbow: to dismiss or reject (a person),
esp. insensitively or unceremoniously; to break off a relationship with (a person) peremptorily. Also (in extended use): to discard or abandon (something).
Cf. big E n. at
big adj. and
adv. Special uses 2,
cold shoulder n.| 1938 P. G. Wodehouse Code of Woosters viii. 177 After all, the Woosters did come over with the Conqueror..and a fat lot of good it is coming over with Conquerors, if you're simply going to wind up being given the elbow by Aberdeen terriers. 1983 Tucker's Luck Ann. 1984 12/2 You really think I should give her the elbow?.. Tough, innit? She'll get over it, they always do! 1988 New Musical Express 27 Feb. 3/4 Top of the Pops..given the elbow from American networks after just five weeks..failed to attract the audience expected of it. 2000 N. Griffiths Grits (2001) 45 Av given Sarah..the old El Bow... A know that's a terrible fuckin thing tuh say. |
▪ II. elbow, v. (
ˈɛlbəʊ)
[f. prec. n.] 1. trans. To thrust with the elbow; to jostle; also
fig.| 1605 Shakes. Lear iv. iii. 44 (Globe ed.) A sovereign shame so elbows him. 1673 Dryden Conq. Granada i. i, Grown more strong, it..Elbows all the Kingdoms round about. 1691–8 Norris Pract. Disc. (1711) III. 138 They have scarce room to pass in without elbowing..one another. 1710 Steele & Add. Tatler No. 253 ¶8 Must our Sides be elbowed, our Shins broken? 1876 Green Stray Stud. 190 The trader elbowing the noble and the artisan the trader. |
2. To thrust aside with the elbow; also,
to elbow off, out of (anything). Chiefly
fig.| 1712 Steele Spect. No. 484 ¶5 It is ever want of breeding..to be..elbow'd out of his honest ambition. 1712 Arbuthnot John Bull (1727) 74 He used to..elbow his fellow-servants to get near his mistress. 1855 Macaulay Hist. Eng. IV. 485 They would elbow our own Aldermen off the Royal Exchange. 1884 Manch. Exam. 13 Nov. 5/2 The small farming class have been gradually elbowed out of their holdings. |
† 3. absol. and intr. To push right and left with the elbows; also
fig. So also,
† to elbow it.
| 1636 Heywood Challenge v. i. Wks. 1874 V. 68 That Picke-devant that elbowes next the Queene. 1681 Manningham Disc. Truth 50 (T.) He..grows hot and turbid..elbows in all his philosophick disputes. 1767 Babler II. 195 To be elbowing it among people of fashion. 1885 L. Wingfield Barbara Philpot III. xii. 291 Beaux elbowed for a place. |
4. a. quasi-refl. To force one's way by elbowing;
const. into,
through.
b. quasi-trans. To make (one's way) by elbowing.
| 1833 H. Martineau Berkeley i. vii. 132 A carrier had left the market early to elbow his way into the bank. 1863 Mrs. C. Clarke Shaks. Char. vi. 162 She..elbows herself in wherever she sees business going on. |
5. intr. To make an ‘elbow’ in one's path, go out of the direct way.
| 1804 Southey in Robberds Mem. W. Taylor I. 503, I would elbow out of my way to Norwich. 1839–40 W. Irving Wolfert's R. (1855) 149 Elbowing along, zig-zag. |
6. (See
quot.)
| 1755 Johnson, Elbow To jut out in angles. Dict. 1775 in Ash. 1832 in Webster; and in mod. Dicts. |