nodding acquaintance

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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.

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showing self-respect

treating others with kindness

acting selfishly

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Origin of nodding acquaintance

First recorded in 1860–65

Words nearby nodding acquaintance

nodal escape, nodal extrasystole, nodal point, nodal rhythm, Noddack, nodding acquaintance, nodding dog, nodding donkey, nodding lilac, nodding pogonia, nodding spasm

How to use nodding acquaintance in a sentence

Should old acquaintance be forgot, just remember a few of the resolutions the Founding Fathers (would have) made this year.
Forget the Resolutions; Try a Few Declarations|Kevin Bleyer|January 1, 2015|DAILY BEAST
Another acquaintance described Seevakumaran as “a creep,” who would “constantly hit on women.”
School Shooters Love This Pickup Artist Website|Brandy Zadrozny|December 5, 2014|DAILY BEAST
When he says something, nod; this nodding will induce him to agree with you.
Russia’s Gold Digger Academy|Peter Pomerantsev|November 11, 2014|DAILY BEAST
He insulted a female poet of his acquaintance by remarking “that she and her family were Jews.”
Borges Had A Genius For Literature But Not Love Or Much Else|Allen Barra|October 24, 2014|DAILY BEAST

“No, they deserve it,” he said before nodding and walking off.
Morgan Freeman Gently Slapped My Face|Asawin Suebsaeng|September 19, 2014|DAILY BEAST
A child begins to make acquaintance with the images of things when set before a mirror.
Children's Ways|James Sully
He made the acquaintance of some courtiers, who felt or affected an interest in learning and in learned men.
Tobacco; Its History, Varieties, Culture, Manufacture and Commerce|E. R. Billings.
By its operation Gordon Wright, the most sensible man of our acquaintance, is reduced to the level of infancy!
Confidence|Henry James
It was the Town Crier, with whom, as with a brother artist, he had picked acquaintance the day before.
The Joyous Adventures of Aristide Pujol|William J. Locke
For Lettice—the tender woman of his first acquaintance—had obviously experienced a moment of reaction.
The Wave|Algernon Blackwood

Other Idioms and Phrases with nodding acquaintance

nodding acquaintance

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]