rub elbows
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rub elbows
To interact or mingle with a person or group. I don't want to go to the gala tonight, but my wife is eager to rub elbows with the upper class. I've been rubbing elbows all night, and now I'd like to just have some quiet time.
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms. © 2015 Farlex, Inc, all rights reserved.
rub elbows (with someone)
and rub shoulders with someoneFig. to associate with someone; to work closely with someone. (No physical contact is involved.) I don't care to rub elbows with someone who acts like that! I rub shoulders with John at work. We are good friends.
McGraw-Hill Dictionary of American Idioms and Phrasal Verbs. © 2002 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.
rub
elbows/shoulders To mix or socialize closely: diplomats rubbing elbows with heads of state.
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.