ride one’s hobbyhorse, to
Ride one’s hobbyhorse, to - To dwell on one’s favorite theory or project. The term alludes to the popular children’s toy, a stick mounted with a horse’s head on which youngsters “ride.” It was transferred to pet schemes and ideas by the early seventeenth century. “Almost every person hath some hobby horse or other wherein he prides himself,” wrote Sir Matthew Hale in 1676.
Related and Similar Terms
- Ax to grind: A personal agenda that one is interested in promoting.
- Bee in one’s bonnet: An obsession or preoccupation.
- Pet project: A project, activity, or plan pursued as a personal favorite.
- Dead horse: A futile or outdated subject still intensely promoted.
- Kicking the can down the road: To defer or delay solving a problem.
Quotes and Proverbs
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❝Almost every person hath some hobby horse or other wherein he prides himself.❞ - Sir Matthew Hale
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“Everyone has their own peculiar recesses of thought, where no bewitching spirit dare safely intrude.” - Jane Austen, Northanger Abbey
Humorous Insight:
“Some people ride their hobbyhorse like it’s the Kentucky Derby. Others need to be reminded that not everyone signed up for the rodeo.”
Suggested Literature:
- Don Quixote by Miguel de Cervantes: The ultimate hobbyhorse rider with windmills as his main battleground.
- Collected Essays by George Orwell: Particularly “Politics and the English Language,” where Orwell rides his own hobbyhorse about clarity in language.
Movies:
- The Aviator (2004): Howard Hughes and his various “hobbyhorses,” from aviation to movie making to medical inventions.
- Julie & Julia (2009): Following a personal project and obsession—cooking through an entire Julia Child cookbook.
Inspirational Note:
Engage with your hobbyhorse. Nurture it. Just remember, while galloping may invigorate you, rein in the ride in shared pastures.
Idiom Quizzes
Stay curious, keep galloping, but pace your ride. Until next time, may your intellectual endeavors be as joyful as a child racing on their hobbyhorse.
- Ima Jinarian
