hobgoblin

American  

[hob-gob-lin] / ˈhɒbˌgɒb lɪn /

noun

1. something causing superstitious fear; a bogy.

2. a mischievous goblin.

3. Hobgoblin. Puck.

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hobgoblin British  

/ ˌhɒbˈɡɒblɪn /

noun

1. an evil or mischievous goblin

2. a bogey; bugbear

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Etymology

Origin of hobgoblin

First recorded in 1520–30; hob ² + goblin

Explanation

A hobgoblin is something you fear or dread. Public speaking is a hobgoblin for many people. So are spiders, the dark, and monsters that lurk under the bed. A hobgoblin is so scary it’s the name of a Spider-Man villain. The word has been around since the 1500s, though, and can refer to all kinds of things that scare you. It’s in this quote by the philosopher Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803-1882), “A foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds, adored by little statesmen and philosophers and divines.” Anything that worries or disturbs you is a hobgoblin, which can also be called a bugbear.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

hobgoblin

In response, Black quoted Ralph Waldo Emerson to me: “A foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds.”

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 29, 2026

He has taken Emerson’s nostrum about consistency being “the hobgoblin of little minds” to its acid-flashback extreme: no consistency, no mind to speak of, but one hell of a hobgoblin.

From Salon ● Feb. 9, 2025

I’m fine with that; a foolish adherence to canon is the hobgoblin of small minds.

From The Verge ● Aug. 23, 2022

As Ralph Waldo Emerson said, “A foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds, adored by little statesmen and philosophers and divines.”

From Washington Post ● Aug. 1, 2021

I sometimes wonder how much irrationality in the world has been excused by the nonsensical saying “Consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds,” a corruption of Ralph Waldo Emerson’s remark about “a foolish consistency.”

From "The Sense of Style" by Steven Pinker