rub elbows with

rub elbows with (someone)

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.
See also: elbow, rub
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms.

rub elbows with

Also, rub shoulders with. Mix or socialize with, as in There's nothing like rubbing elbows with the rich and famous, or At the reception diplomats were rubbing shoulders with heads of state. Both of these terms allude to being in close contact with someone. [Mid-1800s]
See also: elbow, rub
The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer.

rub elbows with, to

To associate unexpectedly closely with. This term originated in Britain as rub shoulders with, which is still the more common locution there. Thackeray used it in his Book of Snobs (1848): “She had rubbed shoulders with the great.” Elbows are preferred in America, as in Upton Sinclair’s muckraking novel, The Jungle (1906): “Young white girls from the country rubbing elbows with big buck Negroes with daggers in their boots.”
See also: elbow, rub
The Dictionary of Clichés by Christine Ammer
See also:
  • rub
  • rub elbows
  • rub elbows with (someone)
  • rub elbows with someone
  • rub shoulders
  • rub shoulders with (someone)
  • rub up
  • rub elbows with, to
  • rub nose in it
  • rub someone's nose in something
References in periodicals archive
Express Employment Professionals Business Developer Jennifer Henderson went to Dallas last June in order to rub elbows with top flight "grand champion" sales associates.
Henderson visits Dallas employment seminar
One is that you get to rub elbows with some of the other leaders in the bar.
A sidebar with Randall Velzen
Since President Donald Trump assumed office 15 months ago, the hotel has become a go-to destination for those wanting to rub elbows with administration insiders.
Philippine Independence Day party set at Trump hotel
Suu Kyi will also rub elbows with the leaders and representatives of dialogue partners from Australia, Canadia, China, European Union, India, Japan, New Zealand, Republic of Korea, Russia, USA, and United Nations who will attend the Summit.
LOOK: Myanmar's Suu Kyi arrives in style at Clark International Airport
With an amazing aptitude for playing the lute, Nelleke uses her musical abilities to rub elbows with the likes of Queen Elizabeth and William Shakespeare, but then must embark on a mission to save her vampire coven from a dangerous talisman and the villains who control it.
Love Vampires? Pick Up a Copy of the New Vampire Tale "Sinfonia," Published by Dreaming Big Publications
Savannah Buffett and Will Smith were among the fans that got to rub elbows with the surfing elite and check out a timeline of surf history (complete with actual vintage surfboards dating back to the 1940s--so cool).
World Surf League: it's on
Where else can a gun person see so much and rub elbows with others who truly love our way of life?
Brownells at shot
The two boxing champions didn't mind taking a wee time off their training to rub elbows with other celebrity folks.
Pacquiao and Bradley Rub Elbows with Celebrities
Whether the initial draw for this weekend's event is the cantor's singing or the rabbi's speech, Selichot at Park East has become an important event on the social calendars of New York's elite, a place to rub elbows with the who's who of Jewish society.
A Sellout Crowd Comes to Synagogue for the Cantor's Music or the Rabbi's Speech-or Just To Be Seen
Wine connoisseurs and beer lovers who want to rub elbows with kindred spirits have a few choices this week:
Buzzworthy
We tend to rub elbows with the latest prefab architect or the rising-star winemaker rather than hobnob with Brangelina.
National parks
Now in its 13th year, this is the only awards show to cast its discerning eye over all the arts - so the likes of theatre big-wig and Outstanding Achiever Sir Cameron Mackintosh gets to rub elbows with, er, pop prize-winners Elbow.
We love telly: WE LOVE AWARDS - THE SOUTH BANK SHOW AWARDS ITV1, 10.35pm
Honed by Waterloo, surrounded by the likes of the Prince Regent, and eventually up to his impeccable collar in debt, Gronow describes the gentleman's son's life in the army, including the surprisingly rigid etiquette of camp life, the Hyde Park set, the glories and ignominies of real war, the life in Paris of debtors and idlers (the article on how to get invited to a ball is particularly enlightening), and the best way to rub elbows with royalty, high society, and ladies with lovers.
Regency recollections; Captain Gronow's guide to life in London and Paris