up one's elbows

noun

the bend or joint of the human arm between upper arm and forearm.

the corresponding joint in the forelimb of a quadruped. See diag. under horse.

something bent like an elbow, as a sharp turn in a road or river, or a piece of pipe bent at an angle.

Architecture, crossette.

Also called ell, el. a plumbing pipe or pipe connection having a right-angled bend.

verb (used with object)

to push with or as if with the elbow; jostle.

to make (one's way) by so pushing.

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Up one's elbows is always a great word to know.

So is gobo. Does it mean:

a screen or mat covered with a dark material for shielding a camera lens from excess light or glare.

the offspring of a zebra and a donkey.

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verb (used without object)

to elbow one's way: He elbowed through the crowd.

Idioms

at one's elbow, within easy reach; nearby: A virtue of the cottage is that the ocean is at your elbow.

10.

bend/lift/crook an elbow, Informal. to drink alcoholic beverages.

11.

give the elbow, shove aside, get rid of, or reject.

12.

out at the elbows,

poorly dressed; shabby.

impoverished.

Also, out at elbows.

13.

rub elbows with, to mingle socially with; associate with: a resort where royalty rubs elbows with the merely rich.

14.

up to one's elbows, very busy; engrossed: I am up to my elbows in answering mail. Also, up to the elbows.

Origin:
before 1000; Middle English elbowe, Old English el(n)boga; cognate with Middle Dutch elle(n)bōghe, Old High German el(l)inbogo (German Ellenbogen), Old Norse ǫl(n)bogi; literally, “forearm-bend.” See ell², bow¹

Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
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Link To up one's elbows

Collins

World English Dictionary

elbow (ˈɛlbəʊ)

—n
1.	the joint between the upper arm and the forearm, formed by the junction of the radius and ulna with the humerus
2.	the corresponding joint or bone of birds or mammals
3.	the part of a garment that covers the elbow
4.	something resembling an elbow, such as a sharp bend in a road or river
5.	at one's elbow within easy reach
6.	out at elbow, out at elbows ragged or impoverished
7.	up to the elbows with, up to the elbows in busily occupied with; deeply immersed in

—vb
8.	(tr) to reject; dismiss. Also: give the elbow
9.	to make (one's way) by shoving, jostling, etc
10.	(tr) to knock or shove with or as if with the elbow

[Old English elnboga; see ell², bow²; related to Old Norse olbogi, Old High German elinbogo]

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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Etymonline

Word Origin & History

elbow

O.E. elnboga, from ell "length of the forearm" + boga "bow, arch," from W.Gmc. *alinobogan, from P.Gmc. *elino-bugon, lit. "bend of the forearm." Second element related to O.E. bugan "to bend;" first element from *alina "arm," from PIE *el- "elbow, forearm" (see ell). The verb

meaning "thrust with the elbow" is from 1605; fig. sense is from 1863. Phrase elbow grease "hard rubbing" is attested from 1672, from jocular sense of "the best substance for polishing furniture."

American Heritage

Medical Dictionary

elbow el·bow (ěl'bō')
n.

The joint or bend of the arm between the forearm and the upper arm. Also called cubitus.
The bony outer projection of this joint.
Something having a bend or an angle similar to an elbow.

Matching Quote

"There is assuredly no more effectual method of clearing up one's own mind on any subject than by talking it over, so to speak, with men of real power and grasp, who have considered it from a totally different point of view."

-Thomas Henry Huxley

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