to namedrop

1 7.7

To mention famous people who are not part of the conversation to make others think you are important

verb
/ˈneɪmˌdrɒp/

: mencionar

Examples

In the case of Tim Schafer, for instance, it is an entirely new adventure, and he really didn't namedrop anything too much; in the case of Obsidian, it's an entirely new RPG.

Blog text (19)
During lunch, she tried to impress her colleagues by namedropping celebrities she had met at events.
He frequently namedrops famous actors in casual conversations to sound more interesting.
It was clear he was namedropping when he mentioned his friendship with a well-known author in a discussion about books.

How Showy

to boast

94 3.1

to namedrop

1 7.7

mention

223 2.5

Surface Forms

namedrop infinitive

namedropped past

namedropped past participle

namedropping present participle

namedrops third person singular

Morphology

namedrop = name + drop (semi-transparent) = name + drop

Formally a compound of 'name' + 'drop' whose general action ('drop a name' = mention a name) is clear, but the idiomatic nuance 'mention famous people to impress' makes the precise meaning slightly non-literal for learners.

Etymology

Namedrop comes from the two parts name and drop: drop here suggests 'to let fall' and name suggests 'a famous person'. It gives the picture of 'dropping' a famous person's name into a conversation to impress people, so namedrop means to mention celebrities or important people to make yourself seem more important.