break one's arm patting oneself on the back
break one's arm patting oneself on the back verb: to be very full of oneself. Often used as a sarcastic caution: "don't break your arm patting yourself on the back".
Verb
break one's arm patting oneself on the back (third-person singular simple present breaks one's arm patting oneself on the back, present participle breaking one's arm patting oneself on the back, simple past broke one's arm patting oneself on the back, past participle broken one's arm patting oneself on the back)
- To be very full of oneself. Often used as a sarcastic caution: "don't break your arm patting yourself on the back".
- — We're the best football team in the state!
— Careful, dude, don't break your arm patting yourself on the back.
- Synonyms:
- toot one's own horn
- — We're the best football team in the state!
Synonyms of break one's arm patting oneself on the back
Forms of break one's arm patting oneself on the back
| third-person singular present | breaks one's arm patting oneself on the back |
|---|---|
| present participle | breaking one's arm patting oneself on the back |
| past | broke one's arm patting oneself on the back |
| past participle | broken one's arm patting oneself on the back |
| alternative form | dislocate one's shoulder patting oneself on the back |
| alternative form | hurt one's arm patting oneself on the back |
| alternative form | hurt one's shoulder patting oneself on the back |
| alternative form | hurt one's hand patting oneself on the back |
Origin of break one's arm patting oneself on the back
From pat on the back, and the uncomfortable position one would have to assume while patting their own back.
Questions about break one's arm patting oneself on the back
- What does break one's arm patting oneself on the back mean?
- Break one's arm patting oneself on the back means to be very full of oneself. Often used as a sarcastic caution: "don't break your arm patting yourself on the back".
- What part of speech is break one's arm patting oneself on the back?
- Break one's arm patting oneself on the back is a verb.
- What is the past tense of break one's arm patting oneself on the back?
- The past tense of break one's arm patting oneself on the back is broke one's arm patting oneself on the back.
Words near break one's arm patting oneself on the back in the dictionary
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: break one's arm patting oneself on the back (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.
Last updated:
Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: LL-Q1860 (eng)-Flame, not lame-break one's arm patting oneself on the back.wav.
Cite this entry: “break one's arm patting oneself on the back.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/break_one%27s_arm_patting_oneself_on_the_back. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.