A friend by any other namespace

Homer goes to Moe’s. He buys Barney a beer, calling him “soulmate,” but Barney says that he’s “really more of a chum,” not his soulmate. Lenny describes himself as a “crony”; Carl, a “acquaintance”; Larry, a “colleague”; Sam, a “sympathizer”; Bumblebee Man, a “compadre”; Kearney, an “associate”; and Hibbert, a “contemporary”.

I’m a well-wisher, in that I don’t wish you any specific harm. — Moe, on his relationship to Homer, “El Viaje Misterioso de Nuestro Homer” [3F24]

See also: wordnet