Sharp-elbowed

[…] dire faces, figures dire, Sharp-knee'd, sharp-elbowed, and lean-ankled too

—Go to the Bible!—said a sharp voice from a sharp-faced, sharp-eyed, sharp-elbowed, strenuous-looking woman in a black dress.

sharp-elbowed parents

No sooner had President Washington been sworn in, wearing mousy, egalitarian brown broadcloth, than the sharp-elbowed jockeying for social status began.

With his stocky build, spread-collar shirts and locker-room charm, Walter Yetnikoff fit right in among the sharp-elbowed power brokers in the music business.

Fifteen documentaries are in sharp-elbowed competition to be among the five Oscar nominees.

In this imagined reality, sharp-elbowed parents are handed ‘golden tickets’ for endless support. Meanwhile, we battle for the bare minimum[.]