hobbyhorse
Học thuậtThân thiện
Definition
- Noun:
- A child's toy horse: A hobbyhorse is a simple toy, traditionally consisting of a stick with a model horse's head at one end. A child pretends to ride it by straddling the stick and moving around.
- A favorite topic or idea: A hobbyhorse is a subject or idea that a person talks about constantly or returns to very often, sometimes to the point of obsession.
Usage Examples
Noun (Toy):
- The little boy galloped around the room on his wooden hobbyhorse.
- Traditional hobbyhorses were often made from a simple broomstick and some yarn.
Noun (Topic):
- Every time we meet, he brings up his hobbyhorse about tax reform.
- She's off on her hobbyhorse again, complaining about the new software.
Advanced Usage
- "To ride one's hobbyhorse": To talk at length about one's favorite subject or pet theory.
- Once he starts riding his hobbyhorse about ancient history, it's hard to get him to stop.
Variants and Related Words
- Hobby (n): An activity done regularly in one's leisure time for pleasure. (Note: While "hobby" and "hobbyhorse" share an etymological root, "hobby" is now the standard, broader term for a pastime, whereas "hobbyhorse" specifically implies a repetitive or obsessive topic.)
- Pet topic (n): A synonym for the second meaning of hobbyhorse.
Synonyms
- For the toy: Stick horse, rocking horse (though a rocking horse is a different, larger toy on rockers).
- For the topic: Obsession, fixation, pet subject, preoccupation, bee in one's bonnet.
Related Idioms
- "To get on one's hobbyhorse": To begin talking about one's favorite, often repetitive, topic.
- I could see he was about to get on his hobbyhorse, so I changed the subject quickly.
Noun
- a child's plaything consisting of an imitation horse mounted on rockers; the child straddles it and pretends to ride
- a topic to which one constantly reverts
- don't get him started on his hobbyhorse