out at the elbows

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Idioms and Phrases

Also, out at the heels or knees . Wearing clothes that are worn out or torn; poor. For example, When we last saw Phil he was out at the elbows . These expressions, dating from the late 1500s and early 1600s, can refer to clothes worn through at these points as well as to a person too poor to replace them.

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April 19, 2024tortuous

[tawr-choo-uhs ]

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Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

out-a-sight outback

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