nodding acquaintance

American

noun

a slight, incomplete, or superficial knowledge (of something or someone).

He had only a nodding acquaintance with Italian and didn't trust it to get him through the tour. Although we were neighbors for several years, we had only a nodding acquaintance.
a person with whom one is only slightly acquainted.

I don't really know what he's like—he's only a nodding acquaintance.

nodding acquaintance Idioms

Superficial knowledge of someone or something, as in I have a nodding acquaintance with the company president, or She has a nodding acquaintance with that software program. This expression alludes to knowing someone just well enough to nod or bow upon meeting him or her. “Early 1800s]

Etymology

Origin of nodding acquaintance

First recorded in 1860–65

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

Amazon MGM Studios is making an admirably contrarian effort to reverse the tides of the multiplex and bring back human-centered movies that have at least a nodding acquaintance with reality, having released “The Boys in the Boat,” “Air” and “A Working Man” and taking over the Accountant franchise from Warner Bros. with “The Accountant 2.”

From The Wall Street Journal

Others with whom we have only a nodding acquaintance, not a social relationship, seemed inquisitive and gossipy.

From Washington Post

To sit behind the Resolute Desk requires more than a mayor's nodding acquaintance with issues foreign and domestic.

From Washington Post

He had nodding acquaintance with Watters, due to a personal tragedy.

From Seattle Times

My dealings with Ted were impersonal, although we had a nodding acquaintance from performances we both attended at the New York City Ballet.

From New York Times

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023