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.

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

From The Verge • Aug. 23, 2022

"This thing is a gigantic hobgoblin for her. She's freaked out by it and she does not want to entrust us with conducting a trial."

From Fox News • Dec. 19, 2019

The first English translation of the “Communist Manifesto” read, “A frightful hobgoblin stalks throughout Europe. We are haunted by a ghost, the ghost of Communism.”

From Salon • Aug. 2, 2018

A foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds, wrote Ralph Waldo Emerson.

From Washington Post • Jul. 21, 2017

“In that case,” she says, “I’ll be Sarah. You be Jack. Boomer, you get to be the hobgoblin king.”

From "How to Disappear Completely" by Ali Standish