Not attached to one's elbow

Posted by R. Berg on July 14, 2001

In Reply to: Not attached to one's elbow posted by rich h on July 11, 2001

: I could not find anyone 'old' enough to tell me what exactly
: it means when one (he or she) said "he/she is not attached
: to my elbow"

: thx
: rich

Well, sonny, we're not 'old' enough either. The closest expression I know of is "joined at the hip," in reference to conjoined (formerly called Siamese) twins, used figuratively, and usually in the negative, to mean that some two persons are distinct individuals emotionally. "I don't have to like my roommate's boyfriend just because she does--we're not joined at the hip." The elbow phrase might or might not mean the same thing.