Definitions
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
- n. An ugly, mischievous elf or goblin.
- n. An object or a source of fear, dread, or harassment; a bugbear: "A foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds” ( Ralph Waldo Emerson).
Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia
- n. A mischievous imp or sprite; an alarming apparition; hence, something that causes fear or disquiet.
Wiktionary
- n. A small, ugly goblin that makes trouble for humans
- n. by extension A source of dread, fear or apprehension; a bugbear.
GNU Webster's 1913
- n. A frightful goblin; an imp; a bugaboo; also, a name formerly given to the household spirit, Robin Goodfellow.
WordNet 3.0
- n. (folklore) a small grotesque supernatural creature that makes trouble for human beings
- n. an object of dread or apprehension
Examples
“Bradford: But it's meaning is subject to diverse interpretations and when asked where this hobgoblin has been actually applied we are told Iraq … Iraq … Iraq … If you are looking for broader applications save yourself the time and effort.”
“But it's meaning is subject to diverse interpretations and when asked where this hobgoblin has been actually applied we are told Iraq … Iraq … Iraq … If you are looking for broader applications save yourself the time and effort.”
“I don't think you have a good grasp of either Singer's or the Bible's moral philosophy -- or of what the "hobgoblin" quote meant, for that matter.”
“Harris clearly knows it is a lying scare story, an imaginary "hobgoblin" designed to keep us alarmed & easily led & whatever his own witticisms, is desperate to censor any dissent.”
“Star Linda Blair suggested that only a child who was Catholic would have succeeded in the role because to her, the Devil was real, not some imaginary hobgoblin.”
The Huffington Post: Michael Giltz: Halloween DVDs: The Exorcist, Psycho, Troll 2 and More
“But as Ralph Waldo Emerson noted, "A foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds, adored by little statesmen and philosophers and divines.”
The Huffington Post: Marshall Auerback: What Does the Earthquake Mean to Japan's Fiscal Future?
“Bugaboo is from the archaic term bogy boo -- a term for a hobgoblin or anything that haunts, bothers, bugs, harasses, irks, annoys, or frightens, like the bogeyman.”
“Of course, American politics is currently such that cutting taxes is far more popular than actual achievement. hobgoblin”
“And will Burgess promise "morning in Seattle"? hobgoblin”
McGinn’s Budget Briefing: Gloom, Doom, and Reorganization « PubliCola
“Is it "Have an affair with a staffer, foreigner, or sex worker!"? hobgoblin”
McGinn’s Budget Briefing: Gloom, Doom, and Reorganization « PubliCola
Lists
These user-created lists contain the word ‘hobgoblin’.
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supernatural creatures according to M...
Turned this up on etymonline.com (link). It's amazing.
Hobbit (n.)
1937, coined in the fantasy tales of J.R.R. Tolkien (1892-1973).
On a blank leaf I scrawled: 'In a hole...niss, nisses, thrummy-cap, fairy, whitewoman, nicknevin, sibyl, fates, sprite, gnome, cuttie, scrat and 186 more...
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Mythical Beings
mermaid, manticore, fairy, brownie, dwarf, elf, leprechaun, selkie, gremlin, puck, pixie, genie and 97 more...
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funny & derogatory
WARNING: VERY EXPLICIT. YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED.
funny derogatory names, quotes, phrases.
( open list, randomness, ad hom, ad hominem )
also see:
buttfucking quitter, dirty sanchez, donkey punch, falcon punch, assbadger, unicorn turd, assclown, fudgenut, quackery, friggin homo, buttmuncher, jackwagon and 271 more... -
Hobs
hob, hobby, hobbyhorse, hobnob, hobanob, hob and nob, Hob Collingwood, hobble, Calvin and Hobbes, hobbledygee, Hobby-lanthorn, hobbit and 41 more...
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A _____ walks into a bar...
horse, bear, termite, grasshopper, panda, cowboy, guy with a chunk ..., duck, talking dog, guy with a toad o..., guy, blind man and 74 more...
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Fun Words
Words that are fun to say....
gobbledygook, jings, crivens, hullabaloo, wheech, brouhaha, pizzazz, harum-scarum, namby-pamby, pussyfoot, frippery, pitter-patter and 333 more...
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the first list
an immense, grandiloquent list that loads like a thousand years sentence in stone. new words are in the other lists.
ridiculous, brummagem, predicament, sanctimonious, vapid, eschew, admonish, auspicious, capitulation, enumerate, lachrymose, tenet and 1648 more...
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A List of Mythical Proportions
All of these things exist, I swear!
unicorn, pegasus, cyclops, yeti, abominable snowman, bigfoot, phoenix, thunderbird, sea serpent, ogre, grue, troll and 138 more...
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The Devil and His Imps
Names of 'the Devil himself, the devils his "flaming ministers", household goblins, rural demons, bogles, sprites, and fairies of all kinds' mentioned in Charles P.G. Scott's 'The Devil and His Imp...
devil, devilet, deviling, dablet, black angel, black man, black bear, black bull, black dog, bogle, bogie, boggard and 128 more...
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Words Covered in Faery Dust (H)
words that evoke magic, mystery, mayhem, magnificence or anything else that glimmers in the grass
haberdashery, hailstone, halcyon, halibut, halo, hamadryad, hammock, harangue, harbour, harebell, harlequin, harp and 104 more...
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kat's words
ecumenical, cacophony, clatter, marimba, bamboo, saffron, slice, mercurial, pomegranate, cranky, slipshod, scritch and 511 more...
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kimo2000's Words
pakalolo, miliated, voodoo, vindaloo, hacienda, acquiesce, addlepated, olio, akimbo, apropos, oogenesis, arugula and 181 more...
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good ones
grumble, fumble, bumble, stumble, crumble, mumble, jumble, humble, bramble, scramble, amble, ramble and 191 more...
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Just 'cause I like 'em, H
hurlyburly, hurtle, hodgepodge, heartwood, hatch, halo, hooptedoodle, hacienda, hairpin, heyday, hardscrabble, hopper and 208 more...
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Fictional beasties
elf, gnome, dwarf, sprite, troll, fairy, nymph, imp, brownie, sasquatch, yeti, wookiee and 574 more...
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elizacole's Words
isomorphic, endemic, tmesis, fillip, antedate, avoirdupois, jeremiad, hypnagogic, antediluvian, fuck, reification, raconteur and 251 more...
Tweets
Looking for tweets for hobgoblin.
pterodactyl You and me both, fer_k. Such a great comic! Apr 7, 2008
fer_k I can't read this word without remembering Order of the stick. Sep 29, 2007
john "A foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds, adored by little statesmen and philosophers and divines."
- Ralph Waldo Emerson Sep 24, 2007
trivet Such a glorious word - thanks, yarb! Sep 24, 2007