Make Your Point > Archived Issues > HOBBLE

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connect today's word to others: Picture an animal that can't run away because its legs are tied up: it's hobbled; it's wearing a hobble. (Poor thing.) We're not exactly sure where the word hobble came from. And I definitely can't tell you why it was ever in fashion to wear a hobble-skirt, the kind with a tight band under the knees, also known as a "speed-limit skirt," but I can tell you that hobble reminds me of these words: 1. Impe______ta are things or situations that slow you down or make it hard for you to move forward. 2. To f___er people or things is to chain up their feet or to restrain them somehow--and to unf____er people or things is to free them from their (literal or figurative) chains. (To reveal any word with blanks, give it a click.) make your point with... "HOBBLE" To hobble is to move up and down (or side to side) in an unsteady way. And, to hobble is to walk, talk, or act in an unsteady, limping way, with lots of stops and starts. To hobble can also be to make someone else move in an unsteady, limping way, or figuratively, to stop someone from making progress: "rope hobbled the cow's legs," "college debt hobbled us." Pronunciation: HOB ull (rhymes with "gobble") Part of speech: Usually a verb, both the transitive kind ("debt hobbled us") and the intransitive kind ("we hobbled along"). Other forms: Hobbled, hobbling, hobbler(s), hobblingly. "Hobble" is also a noun; it means "the item used to tie up someone's legs" or "an unsteady, limping way of moving." How to use it: With "hobble," we use the metaphorical power of ropes tied around the feet: "The injured player hobbled off the field" (meaning he walked as if his feet were tied up); "The administration is hobbled by scandal" (meaning it's proceeding slowly, one jerky movement at a time, as if scandals were ropes tied around its collective feet). So, talk about people or things hobbling or hobbling along: "she hobbled into the classroom, one foot in a new cast;" "Harry and his friends hobble along in Book 7, lacking guidance;" "the project is hobbling along, lacking leadership and funds." And, talk about people or things being hobbled by (or with) other things: a classmate hobbled by shyness, an airline hobbled by fees and regulations, an oil company hobbled by another disastrous spill, a goal hobbled by laziness and procrastination, etc. examples: Refusing medicine, and refusing rest, he hobbles through the pain until the work day ends. "But the process [of restoring early films] is often hobbled by the difficulties of working with old material. The rights to old movies, especially ones made by defunct studios, can be difficult and expensive to untangle. Additionally, the original materials are often incomplete or damaged."    — Ryan Faughnder, The Los Angeles Times, 13 November 1018 study it: Explain the meaning of "hobble" without saying "hinder" or "hamper." try it out: Fill in the blanks: "The storyline hobbles along, as (some character or characters) (waste time doing something)." Example: "The storyline hobbles along, as Titus ignores Violet and her increasingly desperate need for his attention." before you review, play: Spend at least 20 seconds occupying your mind with the game below. Then try the review questions. Don’t go straight to the review now—let your working memory empty out first. Our game is "TV Tropes!" This month, we're playing with tropes from TVTropes.org. TV tropes are storytelling devices, which can come from any source of fiction—TV, movies, books, you name it. They're the archetypes, the story patterns, the plot devices, the cheap tricks, the situational clichés that we see over and over throughout fiction.  Examples of TV tropes include "Skyward Scream," "Banister Slide," "Caught on the Jumbotron," "Burp of Finality," "City People Eat Sushi," "Dance Party Ending," "Clean Pretty Childbirth," "Come Back to Bed, Honey," "Even the Subtitler is Stumped," and tens of thousands more. Naming a trope can be a straightforward business, as in the "Skyward Scream." But often it demands precision, inviting the use of humorously sophisticated terms. Enter our Make Your Point words.  In each issue this month, consider the name of a TV trope, and try to define it or even give an example from a TV show or other work of fiction. From the previous issue: In fiction, what is the trope known as Clifftop Caterwauling? Answer: It's when some emotionally frenzied character stands on a clifftop and roars at the sky. For example, in The Lion King, Simba mounts the cliff to let out a mighty roar of authority. Try this today: In fiction, what is the trope known as Costume Inertia? review today's word: 1. The opposite of HOBBLE is A. AID. B. FREE. C. SPARK. 2. Her speech is hobbling, full of _____. A. veiled threats B. puns and jokes C. pauses and leaps Answers are below. a final word: Make Your Point is crafted with love and brought to you each weekday morning by Liesl Johnson, a reading and writing tutor on a mission to explore, illuminate, and celebrate words. From Liesl's blog:    36 ways to study words.    Why we forget words, & how to remember them.    How to use sophisticated words without being awkward. To be a sponsor and include your ad in an issue, please contact me at Liesl@HiloTutor.com. Disclaimer: When I write definitions, I use plain language and stick to the words' common, useful applications. If you're interested in authoritative and multiple definitions of words, I encourage you to check a dictionary. Also, because I'm American, I stick to American English when I share words' meanings, usage, and pronunciations; these elements sometimes vary across world Englishes. Answers to review questions: 1. B 2. C