name-dropper

People who try to enhance their reputation by showing that they know famous people.

A person who name-drops

(transitive, intransitive) To casually mention a well-known or illustrious person or the titles of their works, often implying familiarity or association, especially in order to impress others, increase one's status, or to appear knowledgeable or fashionable.

(transitive, intransitive, automatic) A casual reference to a famous or celebrated person or the title of their work, implying familiarity or association.

In general, if Mr. A name-dropped Mr. C that he is "acquainted with celebrity Mr. B

If Mr. C has no celebrity acquaintances, he tends to get more credit from Mr. C

If Mr. C has a celebrity acquaintance, it is "so what?" and neutral to negative.

When you then dig deeper and find out that he was name-dropping without a particularly deep relationship, it's a huge negative: "He's a name-dropper, don't trust him.

Addendum: Whether it's neutral or negative at the point of acquaintance appeal varies widely from person to person, but this composition is interesting.

The premise that "if you do this to someone high, you'll be evaluated negatively" carries the message, "you're low."

So a decision to say, "This appeal would be a plus," can be interpreted as an insult.

orthographical variants

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