bend one's elbow

verb

To drink alcoholic beverages, especially at a public house or bar.

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Meanings

verbbend one's elbow (third-person singular simple present bends one's elbow, present participle bending one's elbow, simple past and past participle bent one's elbow)

present singular third person bends one's elbow · participle present bending one's elbow · participle past bent one's elbow · past bent one's elbow · alternative bend the elbow

  1. idiomaticTo drink alcoholic beverages, especially at a public house or bar.

    One day is no worse than the next for El Caucho; so it's a whim when he starts bending his elbow or ties one on. When he is really "plastered," El Caucho looks grim, but he isn't really nasty.

    2002, Jacques Stephen Alexis, In the Flicker of an Eyelid, page 32

Synonyms & antonyms

Also see
bend the elbow

Origin

Suggesting the motion of an arm raising a glass to drink.

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

bend one's elbow. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/bend%20one's%20elbow

MLA

“bend one's elbow.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/bend%20one's%20elbow. Accessed November 5, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “bend one's elbow,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/bend%20one's%20elbow.

Source: bend one's elbow on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.