elbow your way through

Meaning

Literally, this means to push people aside with your elbows to move through a dense crowd. Figuratively, it means to force your way forward or assert yourself aggressively to achieve a goal in a competitive environment.

Examples

• I had to elbow my way through the crowd to get to the front of the stage.

  I had to elbow my way through the crowd to get to the front of the stage.

• She managed to elbow her way through the busy market to find her friend.

  She managed to elbow her way through the busy market to find her friend.

• In that competitive industry, you sometimes have to elbow your way through to get noticed.

  In that competitive industry, you sometimes have to elbow your way through to get noticed.

• He elbowed his way through the subway station during rush hour.

  He elbowed his way through the subway station during rush hour.

• We had to elbow our way through a sea of tourists to see the monument.

  We had to elbow our way through a sea of tourists to see the monument.

Common Mistakes

• ✗ I had to elbow my path through the crowd.

  ✓ I had to elbow my way through the crowd.

  The standard idiomatic phrase is 'elbow one's way through', not 'elbow one's path'.

• ✗ She elbowed through her way the busy street.

  ✓ She elbowed her way through the busy street.

  The word order must follow the structure: 'elbow [possessive pronoun] way through'.

Related Expressions

Practice

• The concert was so packed that we had to ___ our way through to the exit.

  💡 To push with your elbows or force a path.

  Show answer

  elbow

• He managed to elbow his ___ through the reporters waiting outside.

  💡 Path or progress (noun).

  Show answer

  way