Etymology

Noun

1. An informal chat.

   The three friends had a hobnob outside the bar.

Verb

1. To associate in a friendly manner with. Generally has a connotation of associating with people of a higher class or status.

   The ambitious young student hobnobbed with the faculty at the prestigious college he hoped to attend.

2. To drink together.

   His favorite spot in the club was the bar, where he could hobnob with the big-wigs.

Quotations

• 2001, Garrison Keilor, Lake Wobegon, Summer 1956

  We are Sanctified Brethren, [...] whom God has chosen to place in Lake Wobegon, Minnesota, a town of about twelve hundred in the center of the state, populated by German Catholics and Norwegian Lutherans, whom Scripture tells us to keep clear of, holding fast to the Principle of Separation [...], which is not such a big problem for my people, because we are standoffish by nature and not given to hobnobbing with strangers. Separation is the exact right Principle for us.