nodding acquaintance

noun
1.
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.
2.
a person with whom one is only slightly acquainted:
I don't really know what he's like—he's only a nodding acquaintance.
Origin
1860-65
Examples from the web for nodding acquaintance
  • He had never visited the country before and had only a nodding acquaintance with the language.
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]