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Hobnob and Shakespeare
In William Shakespeare's Twelfth Night, Sir Toby Belch warned Viola (who was disguised as a man) that Sir Andrew wanted to duel. "Hob, nob is his word," said Sir Toby, using "hob, nob" to mean something like "hit or miss." Sir Toby's term is probably an alteration of "hab nab," a phrase that meant "to have or not have, however it may turn out." After Shakespeare's day, hob and nob were used in the phrases "to drink hob or nob" and "to drink hobnob," which meant "to drink alternately to each other." Since "drinking hobnob" was generally done among friends, hobnob came to refer to congenial social interaction.
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Examples of hobnob in a Sentence
George Nelson, ARTnews.com, 12 Oct. 2024
But for a few years, J.D. Vance joined the world of coastal elites, building a robust venture capitalist career and hobnobbing with some of the wealthiest tech leaders in the Bay Area.
—Faith E. Pinho, Los Angeles Times, 17 July 2024
Emma Stone seemed to be hobnobbing more than most A-listers.
—Nate Jones, Vulture, 17 Feb. 2024
The powerful Working Families Party, which is backing Bowman in what is shaping to be a tough primary fight, also trashed Latimer for hobnobbing with Trump fans.
—Dave Goldiner, New York Daily News, 18 Jan. 2024
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Cite this Entry
“Hobnob.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/hobnob. Accessed 1 Dec. 2024.
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hobnob
verb
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