hobbyhorse

noun hob·by·horse \ ˈhä-bē-ˌhȯrs \

Updated on: 25 Mar 2018

Definition of hobbyhorse

1 a : a figure of a horse fastened about the waist in the morris dance

b : a dancer wearing this figure

2 obsolete : buffoon

3 a : a stick having an imitation horse's head at one end that a child pretends to ride

b : rocking horse

c : a toy horse suspended by springs from a frame

4 a : a topic to which one constantly reverts

b : ²hobby

See hobbyhorse defined for English-language learners

See hobbyhorse defined for kids

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Examples of hobbyhorse in a Sentence

Once he gets on his hobbyhorse and starts talking about taxes, you can't get him to discuss anything else.
She's been riding that hobbyhorse for months.

Recent Examples of hobbyhorse from the Web

But if the abolition of ICE becomes not just a left hobbyhorse but a core part of what progressives will ask of their candidates for 2020, that’s going to be a harder choice for Democratic politicians to make.

— dara lind, Vox, "“Abolish ICE,” explained," 19 Mar. 2018
The script by South African actress Le Clanché du Rand opens in a room with a hat rack, a couple of trunks, a hobbyhorse and the iconic wardrobe, portal to a land outside human time.

— lawrence toppman, charlotteobserver, "Can just two actors do all the kids and animals of Narnia for Children’s Theatre? | Charlotte Observer," 9 Mar. 2018
What followed in the State Dining Room was a fascinating back-and-forth between Trump and other governors of both parties over what has become the president’s hobbyhorse since the massacre at a high school in Parkland, Fla., two weeks ago.

— james hohmann, Washington Post, "The Daily 202: Trump gets a seminar on federalism as governors push back on arming teachers," 27 Feb. 2018
Annoyed that Leopold had chosen to remain in Belgium, Churchill was still riding his hobbyhorse of anger at the European neutral countries for not joining Britain and France in preinvasion military alliances.

— Longreads, "Whose Fault Was Dunkirk?," 7 Aug. 2017
Like a real horse and its rider, the hobbyhorse and its master form a team and become attached to each other.

— jari tanner, The Seattle Times, "Hobby-horsing craze in Finland manifestation of girl power," 30 Apr. 2017
The vast majority of the hobbyhorses are homemade —splendid, colorful creatures complete with names like Chattanooga Choo Choo and Panda — exchanged and sold by owners at events and through social media.

— Washington Post, "Hobby-horsing craze in Finland manifestation of girl power," 30 Apr. 2017
Splayed across the center of the park is a 40-foot-long hobbyhorse with a colossal faux-stone goat’s head.

— hilarie m. sheets, New York Times, "At Socrates Sculpture Park, Slyly Butting Expectations," 28 Apr. 2017
That’s a familiar hobbyhorse among design advocates who want the profession’s importance to be recognized.

— rob walker, The New Yorker, "Celebrating Design Without Contending with It," 14 Feb. 2017

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'hobbyhorse.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Did You Know?

The hobbyhorse is a toy of yesteryear, dating back to a homespun era predating automobiles. In the 1400s, the word hobby could refer to a real-life horse of small or average size. It soon came to refer to the horse costume worn by one participating in a morris dance or burlesque performance, and then, later, to the child's toy. Another meaning of hobbyhorse was "a favorite pursuit or pastime"; our modern noun hobby ("an activity that one does for pleasure when not working") was formed by shortening this word. From "pastime," the meaning of hobbyhorse was extended to "a subject to which one repeatedly returns." The sense is typically encountered as part of such metaphorical phrases as "get on one's hobbyhorse" or "ride one's hobbyhorse."