Thursday 9 April 2015

H is for Hobbledehoy


For this year's A-Z Challenge I have selected a word from the dictionary for each day and written a story around it with a 100 word limit. For extra interest I have chosen words that are unknown or unfamiliar to me. All definitions are from the Oxford Dictionary & Thesaurus 2007 Edition. Today's word is Hobbledehoy.

Hobbledehoy: A clumsy or awkward youth.


Zebediah watched the village dance he wasn’t allowed into. Just because he wasn’t graceful, they jeered and called him “hobbledehoy”. Well, he could do things they couldn’t. He watched the other youths doing their fancy moves and shuffled his oversized feet. Two couples stumbled and fell on top of each other in the circle and got up again, laughing off their embarrassment, but then it happened to more and more in some beautiful domino effect. The band stopped playing while the dancers disentangled themselves and shook their heads.

Zebediah laughed. Unlike that lot, his feet had real magic in them.

35 comments:

betty said...

I think I finally found the word to sum up my youth and into adult hood. Hobbledehoy. I love it and it fits :)

betty

Sally said...

I think I've heard or read this word before, it seems familiar but I never knew what it meant. When you say it out loud it suits the meaning perfectly. Love the story.

Annalisa Crawford said...

What a fantastic word! Say it three times, fast, and you feel a bit clumsy yourself :-)

Annalisa, writing A-Z vignettes, at Wake Up, Eat, Write, Sleep

JeffO said...

Nicely done--and another great word!

Laura Clipson said...

Now that's karma :)

Dani said...

I'm totally loving this word and this piece!

Alex J. Cavanaugh said...

Did he cause that? Trickster.

Hart Johnson said...

Man, wouldn't it be nice if you could really do that? I was an awkward teen (and am an awkward adult). There are many times I'd like to make other people experience a bit of that.

T. Powell Coltrin said...

What's the word for a clumsy adult? Accident prone for sure.

Love this word.

Tasha Duncan-Drake said...

Another new word on me :) Great use of it - go Zebediah, show those arses who's boss.
Tasha
Tasha's Thinkings | Wittegen Press | FB3X (AC)

Wendy of the Rock said...

lovely

cleemckenzie said...

Ha! That will teach people to taunt someone with "special" talents.

Chrys Fey said...

Ha! I like that word. It has a nice ring to it.

Nice story to ago with it. :)

Jennifer Hawes said...

That was great! Is this a story you've written??:)

Tamara Narayan said...

The next time someone asks me to dance, I have the perfect excuse, "Sorry, I'm a total hobbledehoy." Then again, they might get confused and think that means some strange type of Hobbit.

Susan Gourley/Kelley said...

That is a new word to me. Having that magical skill would be handy in war or athletics.

Sharon Himsl said...

Good for Zebediah! Another new word for me. Love the way it sounds.
Inventions by Women A-Z
Shells–Tales–Sails

Hilary Melton-Butcher said...

Hi Nick - this I've never heard of .. but clever Zebediah to get all the dancers to have two left feet themselves .. cheers Hilary

jaybird said...

Ah, I am one that trips over her own two feet while attempting to dance. Too bad I don't share in Zebediah's other talent.

Bish Denham said...

Oooo! I guess those dancers needed to be taught a bit of lesson.

Keith's Ramblings said...

Hey, a word of heard off! It's one I've grown up with probably due to my two left feet on the dance floor!Nice one yet again.

loverofwords said...

This word sounds like a magic word. Say it three times and something unusual will happen. Hobbledehoy, Hobbledehoy, Hobbledehoy, Nothing happened. (I am just being silly today).

Kern Windwraith said...

Ha! You show 'em, Zebediah! Hobbledehoy is a great word, very much along the lines of gobbledygook. They just feel so good rattling around on the tongue, don't they?

iluvfiction said...

This was magical as well as hilarious Nick. Loved the word and your take on it!

Anonymous said...

Great word. I like that little tale. Go Zebediah!

~Patricia Lynne aka Patricia Josephine~
Member of C. Lee's Muffin Commando Squad
Story Dam
Patricia Lynne, Indie Author

Nick Wilford said...

Betty - I think it fits me too.

Sally - Thanks! It was new to me.

Annalisa - I should try that!

Jeff - Thanks!

Laura - They got their comeuppance.

Dani - Thanks!

Alex - I think they deserved it, now they know how it feels to be clumsy.

Hart - Definitely!

Teresa - I think I'm still a hobbledehoy.

Natasha - Yes!

WM - Thanks!

Lee - Indeed.

Chrys - Thanks!

Nick Wilford said...

Jennifer - All my own work!

Tamara - It has a Middle Earth feel to it.

Susan - Yes - need to look at all the applications (but only for good).

Sharon - I'll remember it.

Hilary - Yes. I hope they don't mess with him again.

Jay - It'd be a good skill to have.

Bish - Yep.

Keith - Hopefully it was used affectionately!

Loverofwords - Give it time...

Kern - It's fun to say!

Ruchi, Patricia - Thanks!

J E Oneil said...

Man, I wish I could do that. And hobbledehoy is such a weird, fantastical word.

Shell Flower said...

Cute story. I hope you read it to your kids. The end is awesome!

Mark Koopmans said...

Dude, I had to copy and paste Hobbledehoy so I could spell it correctly!

And, oh yes, I too Hobbledehoy-ied with the best of them in my youth :)

Jean Davis said...

That's quite a word you picked! Good for young Zeb and his magic feet.

Liz A. said...

Oooh. Did he cause the stumble? I wonder what his magic is.

Liz A. from Laws of Gravity

Unknown said...

Magic in his feet and a devil in his eye. Great word!

You can find me here:
ClarabelleRant

Mina Burrows said...

Cute. Great word too!

djinnia said...

Ah, a word I know do to the fact of a misspent youth watching historical dramas! Great story. Zeb caught my attention. I wanted to know more about him.