McVitie's introduced the brand in 1985. A milk chocolate-covered version was made available in 1987, and the biscuit is currently available in many varieties, including dark chocolate, chocolate orange, and HobNob bars. Other HobNob-branded snacks include a HobNob flapjack. The original tagline of the HobNob was "one nibble and you're nobbled" , although it has been removed from the Chocolate Orange varieties. The name comes from an earlier phrase, to hob or nob, meaning "to drink together, taking turns toasting one another," probably from Middle English habbe "to have" and nabbe, a contraction of ne + habbe, "to have not," hence, "to have and have not, to give and take." Comedian Peter Kay uses HobNobs in his trademark jokes in which he calls them "the Marines, the bloody SAS of the biscuit world!". Kay has also called them the "Steven Seagals of the biscuit world". Pundit Roddy Forsyth mentioned before taking part in the 28th of October episode of BBC Five Live's show Fighting Talk, that he had his "HobNob, my cup of tea" and that "everything is right with the world." |
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