Webster's 1828 Dictionary
HOBBLEDEHOY
n.A cant phrase for a boy at the age of puberty.
Webster's 1913 Dictionary
HOBBLEDEHOY; HOBBLETEHOY
HOBBLEDEHOY; HOBBLETEHOY Hob "ble *de *hoy `, Hob "ble *te *hoy `, n. [Written also hobbetyhoy,hobbarddehoy, hobbedehoy, hobdehoy.] Etym: [ Cf. Prob. E. hobbledygee with a limping movement; also F. hobereau, a country squire, E. hobby, and OF. hoi to-day; perh. the orig. sense was, an upstart of to-day. ]
Defn: A youth between boy and man; an awkward, gawky young fellow. [Colloq. ] All the men, boys, and hobbledehoys attached to the farm. Dickens. .
New American Oxford Dictionary
hobbledehoy
hob ble de hoy |ˈhäbəldēˌhoi ˈhɑbəldiˌhɔɪ | informal, dated ▶noun a clumsy or awkward youth. ▶adjective awkward or clumsy: his hobbledehoy hands. ORIGIN mid 16th cent.: of unknown origin.
Oxford Dictionary
hobbledehoy
hobbledehoy |ˈhɒb (ə )ldɪˌhɔɪ | informal, dated ▶noun a clumsy or awkward youth. ▶adjective awkward or clumsy: his hobbledehoy hands. ORIGIN mid 16th cent.: of unknown origin.
The Wordsmith Dictionary