Meanings
nounsharp elbows (uncountable)
- idiomaticuncountableA willingness to sacrifice others to advance one's own ambitions.
Inequality rampant? Greater scope for middle-class parents (like teachers and politicians) to use their sharp elbows?
2006 January 9, Peter Preston, “Wretched systems”, in The Guardian, →ISSN
Translations
Danish rundsave på albuerne
- rundsave på albuernea willingness to sacrifice others to advance one's own ambitions
Cite this entry
APA
sharp elbows. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/sharp%20elbows
MLA
“sharp elbows.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/sharp%20elbows. Accessed November 3, 2026.
Chicago
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “sharp elbows,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/sharp%20elbows.
Source: sharp elbows on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.