rub down
See also: rubdown
English
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Verb
editrub down (third-person singular simple present rubs down, present participle rubbing down, simple past and past participle rubbed down)
- (idiomatic, transitive) To rub from top to bottom, e.g. for cleaning, stripping paint or massage.
- [1877], Anna Sewell, “Earlshall”, in Black Beauty: […], London: Jarrold and Sons, […], →OCLC, part II, page 101:
- We were taken to a light airy stable, and placed in boxes adjoining each other, where we were rubbed down and fed.
- (dated, transitive) To frisk (search by feeling the body and clothing).
- 1931, Hargrave Lee Adam, C.I.D. Behind the Scenes at Scotland Yard, page 221:
- […] "jumped him", as it were, and immediately "rubbed him down" with the view of getting possession of his weapon.