Word.ws English Dictionary

gave someone the arm

gave someone the arm is the simple past of give someone the arm.

Meaning of give someone the arm

Verb

give someone the arm (third-person singular simple present gives someone the arm, present participle giving someone the arm, simple past gave someone the arm, past participle given someone the arm)

  1. (US, informal) To direct the bras d'honneur (obscene gesture) at someone.
    • Pentangeli walks out of the restaurant; there's a little tension between the bodyguards of the two factions.
      ROSATO (O.S.) Hey, Five-Angels...
      He gives him the arm.
      Frankie's face turns red, like he wants to have it out here and now; but Willy Cicci calms his down, and they all make their move out.1973, Mario Puzo, Francis Ford Coppola, The Godfather Part II (screenplay, second draft)

Questions about gave someone the arm

What is gave someone the arm the simple past of?
Gave someone the arm is the simple past of give someone the arm.

Words near gave someone the arm in the dictionary

  1. gave someone Jessie
  2. gave someone line
  3. gave someone one
  4. gave someone something to think about
  5. gave someone the air
  6. gave someone the arm
  7. gave someone the bag
  8. gave someone the boot
  9. gave someone the brush-off
  10. gave someone the business
  11. gave someone the chair

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: gave someone the arm (page history and authors); give someone the arm (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.

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