elbow-bender

[ el-boh-ben-der ]

/ ˈɛl boʊˌbɛn dər /

Save This Word!

a person who drinks alcoholic beverages to excess; a heavy drinker.

QUIZZES

In effect, this quiz will prove whether or not you have the skills to know the difference between “affect” and “effect.”

Question 1 of 7

The rainy weather could not ________ my elated spirits on my graduation day.

First recorded in 1910–15; elbow + bender, from the image of a person bending the elbow to pick up an alcoholic drink, usually in a bar

el·bow-bend·ing, noun, adjective

In March 2013 in Washington, D.C., Seth Bender got in the Uber he ordered and shortly thereafter committed the sin of burping.
The Ten Worst Uber Horror Stories|Olivia Nuzzi|November 19, 2014|DAILY BEAST
I shut my eyes yet felt aware of the garden at my elbow, the blooms opening as if in time-lapse, the stalks lengthening.
Denis Johnson’s Beautiful Apocalypse|Nicholas Mancusi|November 13, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Tarantino would name his production company with Lawrence Bender, A Band Apart, after the film.
The Secrets of ‘Pulp Fiction’: 20 Things You Didn’t Know About the Movie on Its 20th Anniversary|Marlow Stern|October 19, 2014|DAILY BEAST
The document had no legal standing, but was offered to the public as a sharp elbow to some of the assertions made by Ryan.
The Myth of the Central Park Five|Edward Conlon|October 19, 2014|DAILY BEAST

What the state really needs is to figure out how to elbow its way into the tech economy.
The State Where the Right Won the Culture War|Michael Tomasky|October 10, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Jos lifted himself on his elbow, and fixing his shining eyes on Ramona, said in Spanish, "My mother asks if you are travellers?"
Ramona|Helen Hunt Jackson
We must make more—much more—elbow room before the Turks get help from Asia or Constantinople.
Gallipoli Diary, Volume I|Ian Hamilton
Having paused a few seconds to recover breath, he brushed his hat with his elbow, and declared himself ready.
The Posthumous Papers of the Pickwick Club, v. 2(of 2)|Charles Dickens
Just try it once, and you'll see how ingenious it is—only one must be careful not to throw out the elbow in turning out the wrist.
Music-Study in Germany|Amy Fay
Lettice raised herself suddenly on her elbow and looked down at him with earnestness.
The Wave|Algernon Blackwood