straight-arm
Americanverb (used with object)
-
Football. to push (a potential tackler) away by holding the arm out straight; stiff-arm.
-
to force, push, or fend off by or as if by holding out a stiff arm against obstacles.
He straight-armed his way into the middle of the crowded room.
noun
adjective
verb
Etymology
Origin of straight-arm
First recorded in 1900–05
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
"I’m a member of the straight-arm club. … I just pretend that you have a cold and I have a cold. Join the straight-arm club with me."
From Fox News ● Apr. 2, 2019
"I'm a member of the straight-arm club," she said, extending a stiff arm out to demonstrate.
From Salon ● Apr. 2, 2019
“He is someone who gives hope that things can change,” said Levi Sanders, who has his father’s bounding walk and straight-arm lean into the lectern, before introducing the candidate in Wolfeboro, N.H., in January.
From New York Times ● Feb. 28, 2016
He offered a distinctly secular straight-arm gesture to those he feels have been less than sympathetic during a trying period of form.
From The Guardian ● Sep. 27, 2010
I played a straight back-hand shot down the line, passing Mr. Gore's forehand—rather a desperate stroke, as if it failed to pass him it meant certain death from one of his straight-arm volleys.
From Lawn Tennis for Ladies by Mrs. Lambert Chambers
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
