hobbledehoy

[ hob-uhl-dee-hoi ]

noun
  1. an awkward, ungainly youth.

Origin of hobbledehoy

1
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

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How to use hobbledehoy in a sentence

  • And yet, what a scholars mate, too, to go and be shelved by such a mere hobbledehoy of a fellow as this young man Churchill!'

  • "Tas the way with them foweners," said the first hobbledehoy sagely.

    The Wonderful Visit | Herbert George Wells
  • A rude hobbledehoy of the St Malo peasant class opened the hut door and stared.

    Love's Usuries | Louis Creswicke
  • A half-wild-looking hobbledehoy boy of fifteen years also joined the group.

    A Labrador Doctor | Wilfred Thomason Grenfell
  • A ragged hobbledehoy stood on the Vanderbilt grounds at Biltmore, mouth open but silent, watching a gardener at work.

    Our Southern Highlanders | Horace Kephart

British Dictionary definitions for hobbledehoy

hobbledehoy

/ (ˌhɒbəldɪˈhɔɪ) /


noun
  1. archaic, or dialect a clumsy or bad-mannered youth

Origin of hobbledehoy

1
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