bend one's elbow
To drink alcoholic beverages, especially at a public house or bar.
Meaning adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
“He likes to bend his elbow at the local pub every Friday.”
“Do you want to bend your elbow with us tonight?”
“They are bending their elbows at the wedding reception.”
“After a long week at the office, the colleagues decided to bend their elbows at the tavern down the street.”
“The old neighbors often meet on their front porch to bend their elbows while watching the sunset together.”
“He rarely bends his elbow during the week because he prefers to stay sharp for his early morning gym sessions.”
“The retired sailors sat in the corner of the dark lounge, bending their elbows and sharing stories about the sea.”
“The weary traveler sought refuge in the dimly lit inn, where he spent the evening bending his elbow with the local townsfolk.”
The idiom suggests the physical motion of the arm required to raise a vessel from a surface to the mouth. It describes the mechanical action of the joint during the consumption of a beverage, preserved in the lexicon as a shorthand for the act of drinking.
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A surprise advantage of which others are not aware.
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To behave in a manner appropriate to one's age.
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Synonym of act one's age (“to behave in a mature manner; to avoid being childish”).
- 05
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Exceptionally timid.
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To reveal one's sordid secrets to the public.
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Synonym of air one's dirty laundry in public.
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Last updated August 10, 2026