scrape up an acquaintance

scrape up an acquaintance idiom
Make an effort to become familiar with someone, especially for one's own benefit. For example, He scraped up an acquaintance with the college president in hopes of getting his son admitted. This term uses scrape in the sense of “gather with difficulty” (also see under scare up). Originally put as scrape acquaintance, it was first recorded in 1600.

The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer. Copyright © 2003, 1997 by The Christine Ammer 1992 Trust. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

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