hobbledehoy means an awkward adolescent youth. Lexicurio rates it Sui generis — a strength score of 87 out of 100.
hobbledehoy is pronounced /ˈhɒbəldihɔɪ/.
Why “hobbledehoy” is a great word
HOBBLEDEHOY — [Noun] An awkward, clumsy, or ill-mannered adolescent boy. Of uncertain origin; possibly from Scots, with suggested connections to dialectal English hobbledygee ("with a limping movement") and French hobereau ("country squire"), with the original sense perhaps being "an upstart of today". Unlike a "stripling," which suggests a slender youth, or an "adult," which implies settled maturity, the hobbledehoy is a creature of raw potential and disastrous execution. He is the sound of a voice cracking mid-declaration, the sight of limbs operating as if on opposing pulleys, and the scent of ill-judged cologne applied with a heavy hand—a temporary monument to the painful grace of becoming.
Etymology
From Scots. Compare dialectal English hobbledygee (“(with a) limping movement”); also French hobereau (“country squire”), English hobby, and Old French hoi (“today”); the original sense may have been "an upstart of today".
noun
- An awkward adolescent youth.“I met a proper vpright youth, onely for a little ſtooping in the ſhoulders: […] & hee tolde me there was a fat filthy ballet-maker, that ſhould haue once been his Iourneyman to the trade: who liu’d about the towne; and ten to one, but he had thus terribly abuſed me & my Taberer: […] I found him about the bankſide, ſitting at a play, I deſired to ſpeake with him, […] Name my accuſer ſaith he, or I ”