Of Irish-English origin, the exclamative phrase (more) power to your elbow is an expression of approval or support for a person who is involved in an activity that the speaker regards as praiseworthy.
This phrase occurs, for example, in the following by the British journalist Janet Street-Porter (born 1946), published in The Independent (London, England) of Saturday 2nd May 2015:
More power to your feminist elbow, Sandi
Sandi Toksvig has announced she’s stepping down from presenting Radio 4’s The News Quiz to pursue a new career in politics. Sandi plans to launch the Women’s Equality Party. I wish her luck—count me in.
The earliest occurrences of the phrase (more) power to your elbow that I have found are as follows, in chronological order:
1-: From The Boyne Water, a tale, by the O’Hara family (London: Printed for W. Simpkin and R. Marshall, 1826), by the Irish authors John Banim (1798-1842) and Michael Banim (1796-1874):
“Look—above all the rest—at the dark man that rides on afore his sodgers—see, now, he is the first to lep his horse agin our men—Christ save us!—that’s frightful.”
“He’s the red divil, I believe,” cried Deermid—“while the two throops is at their work, threena-chela,* look how he lays round him—a man down fur every slash—witherin’ to his arm!—it’ll be the ruin iv us.”
“Never say id!”—cried Moya, clapping her hands, while an arm was still passed through one of her companion’s—“Captain Willy picks him out, now—power to your elbow, captain, jewell! och,—the Willy you war.”
* Pell-mell.
2-: From The Wonderful Tune, in Fairy Legends and Traditions of the South of Ireland. Part II (London: John Murray, 1828), by the Irish antiquary Thomas Crofton Croker (1798-1854)—as quoted in The Literary Gazette; and Journal of Belles Lettres, Arts, Sciences, &c. (London, England) of Saturday 29th December 1827:
“‘More power to your elbow, Maurice, and a fair wind in the bellows,’ cried Paddy Dorman, a hump-backed dancing-master.”
3-: From a letter to the Editor, by ‘A Poor Irish Tradesman’, published in The Age (London, England) of Sunday 13th April 1828:
Mr. Age, I ax your honour’s pardon for troubling you, but in troth you brought it on yourself by the Duke’s big house; it was much wanting, and would be a dead secret only for you. More power to your elbow, honey, for it is yourself that isn’t afraid to speak out.
4-: From Irish Priests and English Landlords (Dublin: R. M. Tims, 1830), by the Irish author George Brittaine (1788-1848):
“More power to your elbow, Master Forester! Two of the Moyallart boys is down with one swing of his blowing-horn.”
5-: From The Gridiron; or Paddy Mullowney’s Travels in France, by the Irish artist, author and composer Samuel Lover (1797-1868), published in The Dublin Literary Gazette, and National Magazine (Dublin, County Dublin, Ireland) of October 1830:
“Soon enough troth, our provisions began to run low, the bishkits, and the water, and the rum—troth that was gone first of all—God help uz—and, oh! it was thin that starvation began to stare uz in the face—‘Oh, murther, murther, captain darlint,’ says l, ‘I wish we could see land any where,’ says I. ‘More power to your elbow, Paddy, my boy,’ says he, ‘for sitch a good wish, and troth its myself wishes the same.’”
6-: From The Lost One, by ‘J. M. L.’, published in The Dublin Literary Gazette, and National Magazine (Dublin, County Dublin, Ireland) of January 1831:
“Och, thundher an’ turf, what a fine bran new soger’s gun you’ve got! More power to your elbow; an’ sure if we had all leadhers like you, it wouldn’t be the sorrowful story it is with us.”
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