hobs-and-nobs

Updated: July 1, 2025

Of all European people, which is the nation that has the most haughtiness, the strongest prejudices, the greatest reserve, the greatest dulness? I say an Englishman of the genteel classes. An honest groom jokes and hobs-and-nobs and makes his way with the kitchen-maids, for there is good social nature in the man; his master dare not unbend.

William Makepeace Thackeray - Little Travels and Roadside Sketches