Meanings
- datednot comparablecomputingof a program that steals whatever resources it needs without consideration for other tasks.
It /will/ nuke NT's loader, but that's because NT is all elbows when it comes to booting.
1998 December 20, Iain Georgeson, “Boot sector woes”, in alt.dur.general (Usenet)2 more examples
Multicom goes beyond lame. It's about the worst example of an 'all elbows' 1984 vintage DOS program that I've seen in a long time. Yuk!
1995 October 12, Randy Reames, “MFJ-1278 Software?”, in rec.radio.amateur.digital.misc (Usenet)Amen, even more than most games poor `all elbows' behavior, modern games are generally boring to the extreme.
2002 March 22, Dowe Keller, “Hardest Mistake in Comp Arch to Fix”, in alt.folklore.computers (Usenet)
Origin
From the idea that these programs rudely elbow others out of their way.
Full word history & related roots →Cite this entry
all elbows. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/all%20elbows
“all elbows.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/all%20elbows. Accessed November 4, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “all elbows,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/all%20elbows.
Source: all elbows on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.