Sir Posthumous Hobby, subs. phr. (old).—One nice or whimsical in his
clothes.
Hobby-horse, subs. (old: now recognised).—1. A whim; a fancy; a
favourite pursuit. Hence Hobbyhorsical = strongly attached to a
particular fad.
1759. Sterne, Tristram Shandy (1793), ch. vii., p. 18. Have they
not had their hobby-horses?
d. 1768. Sterne, Letters (1793), letter 19, p. 65. ’Tis in fact my
hobby-horse.
1785. Grose, Vulg. Tongue, s.v. Hobby Horse, a man’s favourite
amusement, or study, is called his hobby horse.
1893. Westminster Gaz., 15 Mar., p. 9, c. 1. We quarrel a bit—he is
so hobby-horsical, you can’t avoid it—and then we make friends
again.