Across the country there are many Elbow Room lounges and bars. But, today, few seem to understand the meaning behind the name. Many speculate that it is a small bar and everyone needs elbow room. That's a reasonable guess, but not the meaning of the name.
The name comes from the idiom, to bend one's elbow. Which means to drink.
bend (one's) elbow definition
and bend the elbow; lift (one's) elbow- to take a drink of an alcoholic beverage; to drink alcohol to excess. : He's down at the tavern, bending his elbow. , If you didn't spend so much time lifting your elbow, you'd get more done.
I'm not sure when elbow bending was first used to refer to drinking, or when it fell out of fashion. But, there is a word still used today that is derived from elbow bending. I guess you can call it a slang of a idiom. That word is "bender."
bender
- a wild drinking spree.
I not so sure about this one. I'm pretty sure the name "Elbow Room" refers to the amount of space available at the bar.
ReplyDelete"Elbow Room" can even be found in Merriam-Webster's dictionary, and is said to refer to "adequate space to work freely". It even gives an example sentence.
"It's a small kitchen with very little elbow room."
Since the bar is quite small, I think the name is an indication to people that although it's small, there is room to drink.
In the case of this bar, I think both meanings of Elbow Room apply.
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