hobnob
colloquial verb (often used as a form of disapproval)

- to spend time being friendly with someone who is important or famous

Cambridge Dictionary

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WORD ORIGIN

The verb hobnob originally meant "to drink together" and was used in different forms: hob-or-nob, hob-a-nob, or hob-and-nob, the first of which is recorded in 1763. These forms reflect the origins of the verb in similar phrases when two people toasted each other.

The phrases were probably used this way because hob is a variant of hab and nob of nab, which are likely forms of have and its negative. In older English it was common practice to negate verbs by changing the first letter to "n". Willy nilly, which means in a spontaneous manner, stems from "will I, nill I?", with nill meaning "will I not?"

Middle English had the forms habbe (to have) and nabbe (not to have) for instance. Hab nab, therefore meant "get or lose, hit or miss," and the variant hob nob also meant "hit or miss." Shakespeare applied hob nob in his play Twelfth Night in the sense of give or take.

Note:

HobNob is also the name of a biscuit made from oats that is sold mainly in the UK. The original advertising slogan was "one nibble and you're nobbled!"

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SYNONYMS

rub elbows with, mix, mingle, fraternize, consort, hang out, network, rub shoulders, circulate

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Practice OWAD in a conversation:

"It's the job of their P.R. boss to HOBNOB with the rich and famous."

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Thanks to Volker for suggesting today's word!