缩写自短语hob and nob,敬酒，你一杯我一杯，来自古英语habban,nabban,对应have,not have.引申词义亲近，巴结。比较willy-nilly.
英文词源
hobnob
hobnob: [18] In Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night, Sir Toby Belch says ‘Hob, nob, is his word: give’t or take’t’; from which it has been deduced that the hob of hobnob represents have and that the nob represents the now obsolete nave ‘not have’ (formed in the Old English period by adding the negative particle ne to have). In Middle English these would have been habbe and nabbe.
When hobnob first appears as a verb, in the mid 18th century, it means ‘drink together’ – perhaps from the notion of buying alternate rounds of drinks, or drinking toasts to each other in turn. The modern sense ‘associate familiarly, socialize’ is not recorded before the early 19th century. => have
hobnob (v.)
1763, "to drink to each other," from hob and nob (1756) "to toast each other by turns, to buy alternate rounds of drinks," from c. 1550 hab nab "to have or have not, hit or miss," probably ultimately from Old English habban, nabban "have, not have," with the negative particle ne- attached, as was customary. Modern sense of "socialize" is 1866. Related: Hobnobbed; hobnobbing.
中文解释
1. "have, not have".2. have => hobnob.3. 谐音“好吧闹吧”
实用例句
1. This gave Bill an opportunity to hobnob with the company'spresident, board chairman, and leading executives.
这使得比尔有机会和公司的总裁、董事长以及那些主要行政主管们厮混在一起。
来自柯林斯例句
2. He used to hobnob with the rich and famous.
他过去常与富有而著名的人交往.
来自互联网
3. In this period, also let many countries hobnob with others.
