to hobnob with
- phrasal verb
- /ˈhɑbˌnɑb wɪð/
- There is a reason the elites always hobnob with the Catholic leadership.
- hobnob with stars
- hobnob with the rich
- hobnob with politicians
Examples
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He hobnobs with kings, queens, heads of state, and other mega-wealthy elites around the globe.
Blog text (33) -
At the charity gala, she spent the evening hobnobbing with influential guests and important donors.
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"People will often get down on their knees for a chance to hobnob with me."
Fiction book (1995) -
I had the privilege of checking one out and hobnobbing with a bunch of folks I had never met before.
Blog text (17) -
Hobnobbing with the rich folks and the politicians and all this kind of thing.
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That way, he could hobnob with all the right wizards.
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You are gonna hobnob with celebs.
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" I go out there and hobnob with the biggest, best names in the business," Swanson said.
Blog text (14) -
- Oh, look, he's hobnobbing with the showbiz crowd.
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Sen. Roy Blunt (R-Mo.) plans to hobnob with K Streeters on Aug. 16 at a private residence in Nantucket.
Blog text (20)
Synonyms
To spend time with a particular group of people
To come together with friends to spend time
Join and talk with other people at a meeting or party
To be friendly and spend time with people you should avoid, for example enemies
Spend time with people others may disapprove of
To meet and talk with important people at social events
Mix socially with important or famous people
To spend time talking with important or famous people
To talk in a friendly, casual way to make contacts
Antonyms
How Social
Surface Forms
Morphology
The verb 'hobnob' already carries the meaning 'to socialize (especially with influential people)', and the preposition 'with' simply marks the people being socialized with. This is a directly compositional pattern (verb + with = socialize with) that is cross-linguistically familiar, so a learner who knows the constituents can infer the MWE meaning.
Etymology
Hobnob with may come from the old phrase hob and nob, which described people drinking and chatting together at a friendly party. The image of standing close and talking to important guests helps explain why it now means 'to mix socially', often with people of 'higher status'.