out at the elbows

Idioms  

1. Also,. 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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Example Sentences

For the plan of Grounds for Divorce is thin, almost out at the elbows, while the Little Angel is nourished with sustaining spice of satire.

From Time Magazine Archive

In the razzle-dazzle world of huck-sterdom, whose currency is superlatives, plain-talking, unassuming Ben Duffy sticks out at the elbows.

From Time Magazine Archive

Toby's coat was usually out at the elbows, but he had long held, throughout the whole Isle of Axholme, a high reputation as a man of deep and singular learning.

From Wise Saws and Modern Instances, Volume II (of 2) by Cooper, Thomas

An Oriental rush chair, very much out at the elbows, several miscellaneous chairs, two desks, a divan, a table, and two dry-goods boxes radiated from the center of the room.

From When Patty Went to College by Williams, C. D. (Charles D.)

He returned not long since, out of money, and out at the elbows, the prodigal son of the village.

From Bracebridge Hall, or The Humorists by Irving, Washington