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

The men went about with coats out at the elbows, and seemed to drag along languidly to the blacksmith's shop, or to the inn.

From Papers from Overlook-House by Almore, Casper

When my coat wears out at the elbows I seek the tailor and am measured for another.

From Stories by American Authors, Volume 5 by James, Henry

Some had the mange; some had blear eyes; some had but one; many were out at the elbows; and not a few down at the toes.

From Mr. Sponge's Sporting Tour by Surtees, Robert Smith