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Hobnob and Shakespeare
In William Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night, Sir Toby Belch warns Viola that Sir Andrew wants to duel, telling her “‘Hob, nob’ is his word” and then adding the gloss “give’t or take’t.” In today’s English, he might have said “take it or leave it.” Sir Toby’s hob, nob is an alteration of hab nab (“hit or miss,” “however things may turn out”), itself likely a shortening of the Middle English phrase habbe or nabbe (“whether I have or don’t have”). After Shakespeare’s day, hob-nob and hob or nob were used adverbially to mean “randomly.” And to drink hobnob, or hob or nob, was to take turns with one’s drinking buddies toasting each other’s health. Later, hobnob (as well as hob or nob, hob-a-nob, etc.) was verbified to mean “to drink socially” and then, dropping the booze, “to spend time with someone in a friendly way.” Today hobnob is used especially in situations where someone is chatting up someone famous or important, as in “hobnobbing with celebs.”
Cite this Entry
“Hobnob.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/hobnob. Accessed 9 Oct. 2026.
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