While reading a translation of Fyodor Dostoevsky’s novel The Idiot (Bookshop|Amazon), a listener is puzzled by the sentence For the most part these omniscient gentlemen are out at elbow, and receive a salary of seventeen rubles a month. What does out at elbow mean? It means “ragged” or “in bad condition,” and refers to the image of a coat worn out at the elbows. Conversely, to be in at elbows means “to be well paid.” This is part of a complete episode.
Transcript of “Out at the Elbows”
Cheryl Anderson contacted us about a phrase in a book that’s left her puzzled.
She’s reading a translation of Dostoyevsky’s book, The Idiot, and she came across this sentence. For the most part, these omniscient gentlemen are out at elbow and receive a salary of 17 rubles a month. And she’s wondering, what does out at elbow mean? To be out at elbow means to be ragged or in bad condition. And the image here is literally a coat that’s worn out at the elbows. So if you’re out at elbow, you’re not doing so well financially.
And there is another version of this to be in at elbows. It’s not very common, but in that case, you’re well paid. In at elbows, maybe you’ve had misfortune and then good fortune and patched them up.
Right, exactly.
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