nodding acquaintance
1
7.4
- noun
- /ˈnɑːdɪŋ əˈkwɛɪntəns/
:
conocido de vista
- When I met him at the conference, we just shared a nodding acquaintance from past events.
Examples
-
Zschau and Olsen had only a nodding acquaintance.
Academic text (2007) -
In the small village of Clayton, New York, where she had lived until almost a year ago, she'd had at least a nodding acquaintance with most of the inhabitants, including the dead ones.
Fiction book (1999) -
Look, at least your old man has got a nodding acquaintance with the real world.
-
Trey had only a nodding acquaintance with the local sheriff.
Fiction book (1997) -
That year, she started a relationship with Baghdatis at the Sydney tournament, after having had a nodding acquaintance with him for years.
Blog text (23) -
These two other women, barely nodding acquaintances, have somehow achieved a massive presence in Erica's life.
Fiction book (1994) -
The set is not really a primer; it assumes that readers have at least a basic knowledge of Marxist thought and a nodding acquaintance with critical social theory, structuration, and realism.
Academic text (1990) -
Though the two men had only a nodding acquaintance at that time, they had been drawn to each other by mutual antipathy to the whole race of women: Dalmar because his engagement had been abruptly terminated, and Ransome for reasons which he had never disclosed.
Fiction book (1990) -
One day, Geran will be the Rivan King and the Guardian of the Orb, and over the centuries I've found that people with at least a nodding acquaintance with true history make the best rulers.
Fiction book (1999) -
I see her at the coffee shop every morning, but we only have a nodding acquaintance.
Synonyms
40
2.0
Someone you have seen before and can easily recognize
36
4.0
Knowing about someone or something from experience
3
3.9
A person you know only a little and who is not a close friend
Antonyms
How Familiar
∞
1.0
114
3.5
3
3.9
1
7.4
∞
1.0
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning 'a person known only slightly' is directly derivable from combining 'nod' (a brief gesture of recognition) with 'acquaintance' (someone known but not a friend). The modifier 'nodding' signals minimal recognition (just a nod), so the compositional logic is clear and would be understandable to a learner who knows both constituents.
Etymology
Nodding acquaintance comes from the simple picture of two people who only give each other a quick nod and do not speak when they meet. So acquaintance here means 'a person you know only a little'.