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In William Shakespeare's Twelfth
Night, Sir Toby Belch warned Viola (who was disguised as a man) that
Sir Andrew wanted to duel. "Hob, nob is his word," said Sir Toby,
using "hob, nob" to mean something like "hit or miss."
Sir Toby's term is probably an alteration of "hab nab," a phrase
that meant "to have or not have, however it may turn out." After
Shakespeare's day, hob and nob was used
in the phrases "to drink hob or nob" and "to drink
hobnob," which meant "to drink alternately to each other."
Since "drinking hobnob" was generally done among friends, hobnob came
to refer to congenial social interaction.
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