hobbyhorse

[hob-ee-hawrs]

noun

1. a stick with a horse's head, or a rocking horse, ridden by children.

2. a figure of a horse, attached at the waist of a performer in a morris dance, pantomime, etc.

3. a pet idea or project.

hobbyhorse

/ ˈhɒbɪˌhɔːs /

noun

1. a toy consisting of a stick with a figure of a horse's head at one end

2. another word for rocking horse

3. a figure of a horse attached to a performer's waist in a pantomime, morris dance, etc

4. a favourite topic or obsessive fixed idea (esp in the phrase on one's hobbyhorse )

verb

1. (intr) nautical (of a vessel) to pitch violently

Word History and Origins

Origin of hobbyhorse¹

First recorded in 1550–60; hobby ¹ + horse

Word History and Origins

Origin of hobbyhorse¹

C16: from _hobby ¹ , originally a small horse, hence sense 3; then generalized to apply to any pastime

Example Sentences

Simon grinned and grabbed one of the wooden baking paddles, which he proceeded to ride like a hobbyhorse ’round the bakehouse.

Read more on Literature

His eyes grew wide, and then wider still at the sight of Beowulf sitting astride his wolf as naturally as a child riding a hobbyhorse.

Read more on Literature

Never mind the crime issue or that favorite Trumpian hobbyhorse, immigration and the border.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Still, his hobbyhorse will be on the Supreme Court’s agenda, and it has drawn as much zealous backing as it has ferocious pushback.

Read more on New York Times

“It is refreshingly free both of collegiate sentiment and — in John Updike’s memorable phrase — the dim rumble of hobbyhorses being ridden back and forth across the floor,” Washington Post book reviewer L.J.

Read more on Washington Post