The word for today is…
hobbyhorse (noun):
1a: a figure of a horse fastened about the waist in the morris dance
b: a dancer wearing this figure
2obsolete : buffoon
3a: a stick having an imitation horse’s head at one end that a child pretends to ride
b: rocking horse
c: a toy horse suspended by springs from a frame
4a: a topic to which one constantly reverts
b: hobby
Source : Merriam -Webster
Etymology : Does your favorite hobby involve a horse? Whether it does or not, the word hobby is undeniably equine: it’s a shortening of the older term hobbyhorse. And in a strange etymological twist, the word hobbyhorse is itself a product of an older word hobby that in the 1400s referred to a small or medium-sized horse, especially one that moved at a gentle pace. By the mid 1500s, hobby horse was being used to refer to a horse costume worn by a person participating in a morris dance or other performance, and then to a toy consisting of a stick with a toy horse’s head at one end that a child pretends to ride. By the next century the literal horse was unneeded, and hobbyhorse could refer to a favorite pursuit or pastime—that is, our modern hobby. From pastime, the meaning of hobbyhorse was extended to “a subject that someone returns to repeatedly, especially in conversation.” This sense is typically encountered in such phrases as “get on one’s hobbyhorse” or “ride one’s hobbyhorse.”
If you enjoyed this BFD word of the day please consider sharing it with your friends and, especially, your children.
