above one's bend

English

Pronunciation

• Audio (AU)

  (file)

Prepositional phrase

above one's bend

1. (idiomatic, US, dated) Beyond one's power or ability.

   Synonym: above one's huckleberry

   • 1835, Davy Crockett, An account of Col. Crockett's tour to the North and down East:

     I shall not attempt to describe the curiosities at Peale's Museum; it is above my bend.

   • 1848, James Fenimore Cooper, The Oak Openings:

     It would be above my bend to attempt telling you all we saw among the Redskins.

Further reading

• John Russell Bartlett (1848) Dictionary of Americanisms‎^[1]