hobble

• POS: Noun, Verb (intransitive), Verb (transitive)
• HYPHEN: hob=ble

CIDE DICTIONARY

hobble, v. i. [OE. hobelen, hoblen, freq. of hoppen to hop; akin to D. hobbelen, hoblen, hoppeln. See Hop to jump, and cf. Hopple ].

•  To walk lame, bearing chiefly on one leg; to walk with a hitch or hop, or with crutches.  [1913 Webster]

  "The friar was hobbling the same way too."  [1913 Webster]
•  To move roughly or irregularly; -- said of style in writing.  Prior.  [1913 Webster]

  "The hobbling versification, the mean diction."  [1913 Webster]

hobble, v. t. 

•  To fetter by tying the legs; to hopple; to clog.  Dickens  [1913 Webster]
•  To perplex; to embarrass.  [1913 Webster]

hobble, n. 

•  An unequal gait; a limp; a halt; as, he has a hobble in his gait.  Swift.  [1913 Webster]
•  Same as Hopple.  [1913 Webster]
•  Difficulty; perplexity; embarrassment.  Waterton.  [1913 Webster]

OXFORD DICTIONARY

hobble, v. & n.
--v.
1 intr. a walk lamely; limp. b proceed haltingly in action or speech (hobbled lamely to his conclusion).
2 tr. a tie together the legs of (a horse etc.) to prevent it from straying. b tie (a horse's etc. legs).
3 tr. cause (a person etc.) to limp.
--n.
1 an uneven or infirm gait.
2 a rope, clog, etc. used for hobbling a horse etc.

Idiom

hobble skirt a skirt so narrow at the hem as to impede walking.

Derivative

hobbler n.

Etymology

ME, prob. f. LG: cf. HOPPLE and Du. hobbelen rock from side to side

THESAURUS

hobble

amble, anchor, andante, barge, bind, bowl along, bridle, bundle, burden, castrate, chain, claudicate, claudication, clog, clump, clutch, complication, cramp, crawl, creep, cripple, crunch, cumber, curb, dead march, deflate, disable, disarm, dodder, dogtrot, drag, drag along, drag out, droop, emasculate, embarrass, embarrassing position, embarrassment, enchain, encumber, enmesh, ensnarl, entangle, entoil, entrammel, entrap, entwine, falter, fasten, fetter, fine how-do-you-do, flounce, foot, footpace, footslog, funeral march, gag, gait, gallop, go dead slow, go slow, gyve, halt, hamper, hamstring, handcuff, handicap, hell to pay, hinder, hippety-hop, hitch, hog-tie, hop, hopple, hot water, how-do-you-do, idle, imbroglio, impede, incapacitate, inch, inch along, involve, jam, jog, jog trot, jog-trot, jolt, jump, knock out, lame, lash, laze, leash, leisurely gait, lime, limp, lock step, lumber, lumbering pace, lunge, lurch, maim, make fast, manacle, mess, mince, mincing steps, mix, moor, morass, mosey, muzzle, net, pace, paddle, paralyze, parlous straits, pass, peg, peg down, piaffe, piaffer, picket, pickle, pin down, pinch, pinion, plight, plod, poke, poke along, prance, predicament, press down, pretty pass, pretty pickle, pretty predicament, prostrate, put in irons, quagmire, quicksand, rack, reel, restrain, restrict, roll, rope, saddle with, sashay, saunter, scrape, scuff, scuffle, scuttle, secure, shackle, shamble, shuffle, shuffle along, sidle, silence, single-foot, skip, slink, slither, slog, slouch, slough, slow march, slow motion, slowness, snarl, spot, squeeze, stagger, stagger along, stalk, stamp, step, stew, sticky wicket, stomp, straddle, straggle, strait, straitjacket, straits, strangle, strap, stride, stroll, strolling gait, strut, stumble, stump, swagger, swamp, swing, tangle, tether, throttle, tie, tie down, tie up, tight spot, tight squeeze, tightrope, tittup, toddle, toddle along, toil, totter, totter along, traipse, trammel, tread, tricky spot, trip, trot, trudge, truss up, unholy mess, velocity, waddle, walk, wamble, weave, weigh down, wiggle, wing, wobble, worm, worm along

ROGET THESAURUS

hobble

Unskillfulness

VB be unskillful, not see an inch beyond one's nose, blunder, bungle, boggle, fumble, botch, bitch, flounder, stumble, trip, hobble, put one's foot in it, make a mess of, make hash of, make sad work of, overshoot the mark, play tricks with, play Puck, mismanage, misconduct, misdirect, misapply, missend, stultify oneself, make a fool of oneself, commit oneself, act foolishly, play the fool, put oneself out of court, lose control, lose control of oneself, lose one's head, lose one's cunning, begin at the wrong end, do things by halves, make two bites of a cherry, play at cross purposes, strain at a gnat and swallow a camel, put the cart before the horse, lock the stable door when the horse is stolen, not know what one is about, not know one's own interest, not know on which side one's bread is buttered, stand in one's own light, quarrel with one's bread and butter, throw a stone in one's own garden, kill the goose which lays the golden eggs, pay dear for one's whistle, cut one's own throat, bum one's fingers, knock one's head against a stone wall, beat one's head against a stone wall, fall into a trap, catch a Tartar, bring the house about one's ears, have too many eggs in one basket (imprudent), have too many irons in the fire, mistake, take the shadow for the substance, bark up the wrong tree, be in the wrong box, aim at a pigeon and kill a crow, take the wrong pig by the tail, get the wrong pig by the tail, get the wrong sow by the ear, get the dirty end of the stick, put the saddle on the wrong horse, put a square peg into a round hole, put new wine into old bottles, cut blocks with a razor, hold a farthing candle to the sun, fight with a shadow, grasp at a shadow, catch at straws, lean on a broken reed, reckon without one's host, pursue a wild goose chase, go on a fool's goose chase, sleeveless errand, go further and fare worse, lose one's way, miss one's way, fail.

Difficulty

N difficulty, hardness, impracticability, tough work, hard work, uphill work, hard task, Herculean task, Augean task, task of Sisyphus, Sisyphean labor, tough job, teaser, rasper, dead lift, dilemma, embarrassment, deadlock, perplexity, intricacy, entanglement, complexity, cross fire, awkwardness, delicacy, ticklish card to play, knot, Gordian knot, dignus vindice nodus, net, meshes, maze, coil, crooked path, involvement, nice point, delicate point, subtle point, knotty point, vexed question, vexata quaestio, poser, puzzle, paradox, hard nut to crack, nut to crack, bone to pick, crux, pons asinorum, where the shoe pinches, nonplus, quandary, strait, pass, pinch, pretty pass, stress, brunt, critical situation, crisis, trial, rub, emergency, exigency, scramble, scrape, hobble, slough, quagmire, hot water, hornet's nest, sea of troubles, peck of troubles, pretty kettle of fish, pickle, stew, imbroglio, mess, ado, false position, set fast, stand, standstill, deadlock, dead set, fix, horns of a dilemma, cul de sac, hitch, stumbling block, crab, curmudgeon, difficult, not easy, hard, tough, troublesome, toilsome, irksome, operose, laborious, onerous, arduous, Herculean, formidable, sooner said than done, more easily said than done, easier said than done, difficult to deal with, hard to deal with, ill-conditioned, crabbed, crabby, not to be handled with kid gloves, not made with rose water, awkward, unwieldy, unmanageable, intractable, stubborn, perverse, refractory, plaguy, trying, thorny, rugged, knotted, knotty, invious, pathless, trackless, labyrinthine, intricate, complicated, impracticable, not feasible, desperate, embarrassing, perplexing, delicate, ticklish, critical, beset with difficulties, full of difficulties, surrounded by difficulties, entangled by difficulties, encompassed with difficulties, under a difficulty, in a box, in difficulty, in hot water, in the suds, in a cleft stick, in a fix, in the wrong box, in a scrape, in deep water, in a fine pickle, in extremis, between two stools, between Scylla and Charybdis, surrounded by shoals, surrounded by breakers, surrounded by quicksands, at cross purposes, not out of the wood, reduced to straits, hard pressed, sorely pressed, run hard, pinched, put to it, straitened, hard up, hard put to it, hard set, put to one's shifts, puzzled, at a loss, at the end of one's tether, at the end of one's rope, at one's wit's end, at a nonplus, at a standstill, graveled, nonplused, nonplussed, stranded, aground, stuck fast, set fast, up a tree, at bay, aux abois, driven into a corner, driven from pillar to post, driven to extremity, driven to one's wit's end, driven to the wall, au bout de son Latin, out of one's depth, thrown out, accomplished with difficulty, hard-fought, hard-earned, with difficulty, with much ado, barely, hardly, uphill, against the stream, against the grain, d rebours, invita Minerva, in the teeth of, at a pinch, upon a pinch, at long odds, against long odds, ay there's the rub, hic labor hoc opus, things are come to a pretty pass, ab inconvenienti, ad astra per aspera, acun chemin de fleurs ne conduit a la gloire.

Failure

VB fail, be unsuccessful, not succeed, make vain efforts, do in vain, labor in vain, toil in vain, flunk, lose one's labor, take nothing by one's motion, bring to naught, make nothing of, wash a blackamoor white, roll the stones of Sisyphus, do by halves, lose ground, fall short of, miss, miss one's aim, miss the mark, miss one's footing, miss stays, slip, trip, stumble, make a slip, blunder, make a mess of, make a botch of, bitch it, miscarry, abort, go up like a rocket and come down like the stick, come down in flames, get shot down, reckon without one's host, get the wrong pig by the tail, get the wrong sow by the ear, limp, halt, hobble, titubate, fall, tumble, lose one's balance, fall to the ground, fall between two stools, flounder, falter, stick in the mud, run aground, split upon a rock, beat one's head against a stone wall, run one's head against a stone wall, knock one's head against a stone wall, dash one's head against a stone wall, break one's back, break down, sink, drown, founder, have the ground cut from under one, get into trouble, get into a mess, get into a scrape, come to grief, go to the wall, go to the dogs, go to pot, lick the dust, bite the dust, be defeated, have the worst of it, lose the day, come off second best, lose, fall a prey to, succumb, not have a leg to stand on, come to nothing, end in smoke, flat out, fall to the ground, fall through, fall dead, fall stillborn, fall flat, slip through one's fingers, hang fire, miss fire, flash in the pan, collapse, topple down, go to wrack and ruin, go amiss, go wrong, go cross, go hard with, go on a wrong tack, go on ill, come off ill, turn out ill, work ill, take a wrong term, take an ugly term, take an ugly turn, take a turn for the worse, be all over with, be all up with, explode, dash one's hopes, defeat the purpose, sow the wind and reap the whirlwind, jump out of the frying pan into the fire, go from the frying pan into the fire.

Restraint

VB restrain, check, put under restraint, lay under restraint, enthral, enthrall, inthral, inthrall, bethral, bethrall, restrict, debar, constrain, coerce, curb, control, hold back, hold from, hold in, hold in check, hold within bounds, keep back, keep from, keep in, keep in check, keep within bounds, hold in leash, hold in leading strings, withhold, keep under, repress, suppress, smother, pull in, rein in, hold, hold fast, keep a tight hand on, prohibit, inhibit, cohibit, enchain, fasten, fetter, shackle, entrammel, bridle, muzzle, hopple, gag, pinion, manacle, handcuff, tie one's hands, hobble, bind hand and foot, swathe, swaddle, pin down, tether, picket, tie down, tie up, secure, forge fetters, disable, hamstring (incapacitate), confine, shut up, shut in, clap up, lock up, box up, mew up, bottle up, cork up, seal up, button up, hem in, bolt in, wall in, rail in, impound, pen, coop, inclose, cage, incage, encage, close the door upon, cloister, imprison, immure, incarcerate, entomb, clap under hatches, lay under hatches, put in irons, put in a strait-waistcoat, throw into prison, cast into prison, put into bilboes, arrest, take up, take charge of, take into custody, take prisoner, take captive, make prisoner, make captive, captivate, lead captive, lead into captivity, send to prison, commit to prison, commit, give in charge, give in custody, subjugate.

Slowness

VB move slowly, creep, crawl, lag, slug, drawl, linger, loiter, saunter, plod, trudge, stump along, lumber, trail, drag, dawdle, grovel, worm one's way, steal along, job on, rub on, bundle on, toddle, waddle, wabble, slug, traipse, slouch, shuffle, halt, hobble, limp, caludicate, shamble, flag, falter, trotter, stagger, mince, step short, march in slow time, march in funeral procession, take one's time, hang fire, retard, relax, slacken, check, moderate, rein in, curb, reef, strike sail, shorten sail, take in sail, put on the drag, apply the brake, clip the wings, reduce the speed, slacken speed, slacken one's pace, lose ground.