Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
- noun An ugly, mischievous elf or goblin.
- noun An object or a source of fear, dread, or harassment; a bugbear.
from The Century Dictionary.
- noun A mischievous imp or sprite; an alarming apparition; hence, something that causes fear or disquiet.
from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.
- noun A frightful goblin; an imp; a bugaboo; also, a name formerly given to the household spirit, Robin Goodfellow.
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- noun A small,
ugly goblin that makestrouble for humans - noun by extension A source of
dread ,fear orapprehension ; abugbear .
from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
- noun (folklore) a small grotesque supernatural creature that makes trouble for human beings
- noun an object of dread or apprehension
Etymologies
Sorry, no etymologies found.
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Examples
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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.
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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.
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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.
Questioning "dignity." Ann Althouse 2007
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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.
A Place to Stand 2009
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Of course, American politics is currently such that cutting taxes is far more popular than actual achievement. hobgoblin
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And will Burgess promise "morning in Seattle"? hobgoblin
McGinn’s Budget Briefing: Gloom, Doom, and Reorganization « PubliCola 2010
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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.
Michael Giltz: Halloween DVDs: The Exorcist, Psycho, Troll 2 and More Michael Giltz 2010
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Is it "Have an affair with a staffer, foreigner, or sex worker!"? hobgoblin
McGinn’s Budget Briefing: Gloom, Doom, and Reorganization « PubliCola 2010
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But as Ralph Waldo Emerson noted, "A foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds, adored by little statesmen and philosophers and divines."
Marshall Auerback: What Does the Earthquake Mean to Japan's Fiscal Future? Marshall Auerback 2011
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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.
trivet commented on the word hobgoblin
Such a glorious word - thanks, yarb!
September 25, 2007
john commented on the word hobgoblin
"A foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds, adored by little statesmen and philosophers and divines."
- Ralph Waldo Emerson
September 25, 2007
fer_k commented on the word hobgoblin
I can't read this word without remembering Order of the stick.
September 30, 2007
pterodactyl commented on the word hobgoblin
You and me both, fer_k. Such a great comic!
April 8, 2008