hobgoblin

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

He has taken Emerson’s nostrum about consistency being “the hobgoblin of little minds” to its acid-flashback extreme: no consistency, no mind to speak of, but one hell of a hobgoblin.

From Salon • Feb. 9, 2025

I’m fine with that; a foolish adherence to canon is the hobgoblin of small minds.

From The Verge • Aug. 23, 2022

“A foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds,” Emerson wrote, and in this respect at least, Thiel’s intellect lives up to its billing.

From Los Angeles Times • Sep. 17, 2021

As Ralph Waldo Emerson said, “A foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds, adored by little statesmen and philosophers and divines.”

From Washington Post • Aug. 1, 2021

Anyway, Jack and Sarah journey across the forest, defeat a troll army, rescue the fairy princess, battle the evil hobgoblin king and queen, and return the world to the sunshine.

From "How to Disappear Completely" by Ali Standish