I only have a nodding acquaintance with the works of Shakespeare, Felix said.

Could you explain "nodding acquaintance"?

My comments:

An acquaintance is someone you know but only a little of. Perhaps you've just met or perhaps you've met a few times but haven't talked much. Perhaps all you have ever said to him or her was "Hi", "How are you?" or "Nice weather, today, isn't it?"

A nodding acquaintance is such a relationship, in which all you do to each other was nodding the head by way of saying hello, as a most casual gesture of the other person's presence.

In other words, you don't know each other well at all.

Felix's nodding acquaintance with the works of Shakespeare, hence?

It means, in short, Felix has read very little of Shakespeare.

Related stories:

Flip out over nothing

Bury the hatchet& have an ax to grind

Vocal proponent

Growing pains

Fleeting acquaintance

All-weather friend

Lead the pack

Fish or cut bait

Gilt-edged

To do more with less

Right down the middle

Take my word for it

40-sometimes

Last but not the least

Call it a dog

Pull my leg

Ego bath

Tough call

Rain check

Upper reaches

Off the shoulders

Off and running

Gold dust

Frugality fatigue

Red flag

Foregone conclusion

Call balls and strikes

Stare in the face

Cyber Monday

With a grain of salt

Drive home

Out of nowhere

Shove it under the carpet

Go to Zhang Xin's column

本文僅代表作者本人觀點(diǎn)，與本網(wǎng)立場無關(guān)。歡迎大家討論學(xué)術(shù)問題，尊重他人，禁止人身攻擊和發(fā)布一切違反國家現(xiàn)行法律法規(guī)的內(nèi)容。

About the author:

Zhang Xin（張欣） has been with China Daily since 1988, when he graduated from Beijing Foreign Studies University. Write him at: zhangxin@chinadaily.com.cn, or raise a question for potential use in a future column.