Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
- intransitive verb To mention casually the names of famous or important people to create the impression that one is familiar with them in an attempt to impress or influence others.
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- verb To
casually mention awell-known orillustrious person or the titles of their works, often implying familiarity or association, especially in order toimpress others, increase one's status, or to appearknowledgeable orfashionable .
Etymologies
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Examples
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Some random bluster and name-drop: "In 2005, we sponsored Rock the Vote, [garbled, something about wine], we got a chance to connect with President Obama then."
"I want to see that invitation": D.C. 'Housewives' recap and fact-check (#8, Oct. 1) The Reliable Source 2010
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I shall take this as explicit permission to name-drop Mary @ Leo!
How to Land a Guest Post Every Time: 21 Secret Tips | Write to Done 2010
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The name-drop made for good TV but doesn't seem to be what scored her a ticket to the show's vaunted "Hollywood auditions": The Seattle native didn't yet know she'd get the fall internship when she first showed up for a Idol cattle-call in Milwaukee last July.
White House intern Molly DeWolf Swenson took time off to try out for "American Idol" The Reliable Source 2011
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Mr. Volkov, who emigrated to the U.S. from the Soviet Union in the 1970s, also tends to name-drop.
Czar-Crossed Writers Gary Saul Morson 2011
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The place was name-drop central: Roddy Doyle, Margaret Atwood, Paul Gross, Dave Bidini and the Rheostatics, Alistair MacLeod, Nino Ricci, David Bezmozgis, etc., virtually every big-time editor and publisher of note in the Toronto area, and a bunch of film/tv types.
IFOA Report 2009
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Scott Fitzgerald name-drop, it clocks in at less than 90 seconds—and "Blow It Up."
Success With No Incubation Period Jim Fusilli 2011
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One evening I struck up a conversation with “her,” which consisted of me listening to her name-drop continuously in an elitist sneer.
Get Laid or Die Trying Jeff Allen 2011
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One evening I struck up a conversation with “her,” which consisted of me listening to her name-drop continuously in an elitist sneer.
Get Laid or Die Trying Jeff Allen 2011
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Some random bluster and name-drop: "In 2005, we sponsored Rock the Vote, [garbled, something about wine], we got a chance to connect with President Obama then."
"I want to see that invitation": D.C. 'Housewives' recap and fact-check (#8, Oct. 1) The Reliable Source 2010
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But being able to casually name-drop "my travel agent" or "my stock broker" or "my lawyer" is essential, not a luxury, in the dating scene of Los Angeles.
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