Word.ws English Dictionary

given someone the arm

given someone the arm is the past participle 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 given someone the arm

What is given someone the arm the past participle of?
Given someone the arm is the past participle of give someone the arm.

Words near given someone the arm in the dictionary

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

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: given 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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