rub down

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rub down (third-person singular simple present rubs down, present participle rubbing down, simple past and past participle rubbed down)

1. (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.

2. (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.