Re:The Electromagnetic Force of Fridge Magnets
by irrational on Friday August 27, 2021 @10:13PM
(#28335005)
For anyone else who didn’t know, a hob is the British word for the top of a stove (the stovetop). Though, according to 2 dictionaries I checked, it more usually means hobgoblin in British English. I wonder if they have puns about these two meanings.
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Re:The Electromagnetic Force of Fridge Magnets
by kragen on Friday August 27, 2021 @10:27PM
(#28335074)
I was thinking maybe they shared a common origin, but apparently not: https://www.etymonline.com/word/hob
I think speaking of stovetops is around two orders of magnitude more common than speaking of hobgoblins among BrE-speakers nowadays.
Re:The Electromagnetic Force of Fridge Magnets
by PaulDavisThe1st on Friday August 27, 2021 @11:13PM
(#28335311)
birth BrE here, 32 years of AmE ... never ever heard "hob" as related to "hobgoblin".