Word of the Day

: April 12, 2016

hobnob

verb HAHB-nahb

What It Means

: to associate familiarly

hobnob in Context

"We were so far from A-listers they couldn't see us with a telescope, yet there we were, hobnobbing with athletes and celebrities, all the while making good use of the free drinks and appetizers, especially the sushi rolls." — Eric Plummer, The Coeur d'Alene (Idaho) Press, 14 Feb. 2016

"The Oscars ceremony might be one of the most prestigious events in the celebrity world, but the Vanity Fair celebration is the most exclusive after-party … in which all of the movie stars in all of the land are brought to one large building to hobnob and glad-hand and get away from the mortals." — Monica Hesse, The Washington Post, 1 Mar. 2016

Did You Know?

Hob and nob first came together in print in Shakespeare's Twelfth Night, when Sir Toby Belch warns Viola (who is disguised as a man) that Sir Andrew wants to duel. "Hob, nob is his word," says Sir Toby, using hob and nob to mean something like "hit or miss." Sir Toby's words are probably from the term habnab (also styled as a phrase: hab or nab), which meant "in one way or another" or "however it may turn out." After Shakespeare's day, hob and nob became established in the phrase to drink hobnob (also styled as to drink hob or nob), which meant "to drink alternately to each other." Since "drinking hobnob" was generally done among friends, hobnob came to refer to congenial social interaction.