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

"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

“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