hobbledehoy

[ hob-uh l-dee-hoi ]

/ ˈhɒb əl diˌhɔɪ /

noun

an awkward, ungainly youth.

Nearby words

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)

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples 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

Word Origin and History for hobbledehoy

hobbledehoy

"clumsy or awkward youth," 1530s, of uncertain origin and the subject of much discussion. First element is probably hob in its sense of "clown, prankster" (see hobgoblin), the second element perhaps is Middle French de haye "worthless, untamed, wild," literally "of the hedge."