elbow-bender

American  

[el-boh-ben-der] / ˈɛl boʊˌbɛn dər /

noun

Slang.

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

---

Other Word Forms

• elbow-bending noun

Etymology

Origin of elbow-bender

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

Example Sentences

From Kerrigan's Kozy Korner to the Stork Club, barrooms have suffered from an influx of "kids and marginal drinkers," which one Manhattan elbow-bender has scornfully dubbed "The Television Set."

From Time Magazine Archive