Crook one's elbow is a US slang idiom meaning to drink alcohol — specifically to lift a glass to one's lips, the gesture of drinking.
Crook one's elbow is a US slang idiom meaning to drink alcohol — specifically to lift a glass to one's lips, the gesture of drinking. The phrase is a metonym: the physical act of bending the elbow to bring a drink to the mouth represents the act of drinking itself. It carries a jocular, slightly coy register — a polite circumlocution for drinking that implies the activity is habitual. Used in informal speech and writing to suggest someone drinks regularly.
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Regional slang from around the English-speaking world — British, Australian, Irish, Caribbean, Nigerian, Filipino, AAVE, and the hyphenated-English dialects that make the internet sound local.
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(slang) To be dismissed from employment.
(US, dated, early 20th-century, _, slang) A detective.
(obsolete, dialectal, East Midlands, Lancashire, Yorkshire) To bend; to make crooked.
British slang meaning to be fired or dismissed from a job — the elbow here being the nudge that pushes you out the door. It's a slightly more colorful cousin of 'getting the boot' or 'getting the sack.' The phrase captures that unceremonious feeling of being shown the exit with minimal fanfare. It can also sometimes mean being rejected by a romantic partner, adding extra sting to an already unpleasant situation.
(US, slang) To consume alcoholic drink.
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