Meaning
To meet, mix or spend time with people, especially those who are famous, powerful or from a very different walk of life. Suggests casual, close-range social contact rather than formal networking, and often appears with 'the rich and famous'. Informal; the usual American form is 'rub elbows with'. Informal and neutral to admiring, most often used of contact with celebrities or notables. Regional use: General English.
Origin
The shoulders version is the older one, contrary to the common assumption that 'rub elbows' came first. The OED's entry for the verb 'rub' defines 'to rub shoulders' as 'to come into contact, to associate (with others)', with earliest evidence dated a1732, that is, from before 1732; 'to rub elbows', explicitly glossed as its equivalent, is first evidenced from 1750 and became chiefly American in later use. The image is of crowding so close in a street, courtroom or reception that bodies actually touch, which made the phrase a natural way to describe mingling with people outside one's usual circle.
Research Sources
References used to check this entry’s meaning, history, or documented forms.
Variants
- rub elbows with
- rub shoulders
- rub shoulders with the rich and famous
- rubbing shoulders with
Usage Examples
- At the festival's closing dinner, junior researchers rubbed shoulders with Nobel laureates.
- She rubs shoulders with film producers most weekends and never mentions it.
- In this harbour town, fishing crews rub shoulders with gallery owners.