rub down
verb1
Idiomatic To rub from top to bottom, e.g. for cleaning, stripping paint or massage.
- We were taken to a light airy stable, and placed in boxes adjoining each other, where we were rubbed down and fed.[1877], Anna Sewell, “Earlshall”, in Black Beauty: […], London: Jarrold and Sons, […], →OCLC, part II, page 101:
2
Dated To frisk (search by feeling the body and clothing).
- […] "jumped him", as it were, and immediately "rubbed him down" with the view of getting possession of his weapon.1931, Hargrave Lee Adam, C.I.D. Behind the Scenes at Scotland Yard, page 221:
3
To grind, wear down, or wear away by rubbing.