English

Adjective

sharp-elbowed ‎(not generally comparable, comparative more sharp-elbowed, superlative most sharp-elbowed)

1. Possessing narrow, bony, rather pointed elbows.
   • 1802, William Wordsworth, "The Pedlar":

     . . . dire faces, figures dire,

     Sharp-knee'd, sharp-elbowed, and lean-ankled too

   • 1882, Oliver Wendell Holmes, The Professor at the Breakfast Table, ch. 1:

     —Go to the Bible!—said a sharp voice from a sharp-faced, sharp-eyed, sharp-elbowed, strenuous-looking woman in a black dress.

2. (idiomatic) Pushy; having a boldly assertive manner intended to establish an advantage.
   • 1977 Oct. 24, Michael and Ariane Batterberry, "Party Politics," New York Magazine, p. 81 (Google preview):

     No sooner had President Washington been sworn in, wearing mousy, egalitarian brown broadcloth, than the sharp-elbowed jockeying for social status began.

   • 1990 Sep. 17, Richard Behar, "A Music King's Shattering Fall," Time (retrieved 28 June 2015):

     With his stocky build, spread-collar shirts and locker-room charm, Walter Yetnikoff fit right in among the sharp-elbowed power brokers in the music business.

   • 2014 Dec. 4, Brooks Barnes and Michael Cieply, "Documentaries Jostle Against Oscar Obscurity," New York Times (retrieved 28 June 2015):

     Fifteen documentaries are in sharp-elbowed competition to be among the five Oscar nominees.

Related terms

• sharp elbows