hobnob

Definition

A toast made while touching glasses together.

Etymology

From hob and nob, hob or nob (“a phrase spoken when making a toast, possibly meaning ‘give and take’; to take turns toasting or buying rounds of drinks”) (archaic), from dialectal hab nab (“to have or have not, in the sense of an invitation to have a drink”), from Old English habban (“to have, possess”) (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *kap- (“to grab, seize”)) + nabban (“to not have”) (from ne (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *né (“not”)) + habban).

Example Sentences

• "With a hob-nob, and a merry go-round, / We'll pull in ere reason fail; / For the stoutest man in the kingdom found, / Must knock under to humming ale."
• "A prologue of cherry bounce,—brandy,—preceded the entertainment, which was enlivened by hob-nobs and joyous toasts."
• "The three friends had a hobnob outside the bar."