hobbledehoy

[ hob-uh l-dee-hoi ]

/ ˈhɒb əl diˌhɔɪ /

noun

an awkward, ungainly youth.

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transliterate

to remove or destroy all traces of.

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Origin of hobbledehoy

1530–40; variant of hoberdyhoy, alliterative compound, equivalent to hoberd (variant of Roberd Robert) + -y² + -hoy for boy (b > h for alliteration; see hob²)

Words nearby hobbledehoy

hobbit, hobbits, hobble, hobble skirt, hobblebush, hobbledehoy, hobbs, hobby, hobby farmer, hobbyhorse, hobday

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2020

Example sentences from the Web for hobbledehoy

"The Hobbledehoy" was wholly unlike anything which had been seen hitherto in Russian literature.
A Survey of Russian Literature, with Selections|Isabel Florence Hapgood
But I am sure that the tendency nowadays is, somehow or other, to prolong the hobbledehoy days.
The Silent Isle|Arthur Christopher Benson
The bandages and false hair flew across the passage into the bar, making a hobbledehoy jump to avoid them.
The Invisible Man|H. G. Wells
She was still only a hobbledehoy, flabby and loose-jointed, and not quick enough in emergencies.
Grim: The Story of a Pike|Svend Fleuron

Aye, and have ever since she was in pinafores, and I a hobbledehoy in Master Wytheby's school.
The Master of Appleby|Francis Lynde

British Dictionary definitions for hobbledehoy

hobbledehoy

/ (ˌhɒbəldɪˈhɔɪ) /

noun

archaic, or dialect a clumsy or bad-mannered youth

Word Origin for hobbledehoy

C16: from earlier hobbard de hoy, of uncertain origin

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012