Hobs of hell

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Somebody told me recently that there trip to Portugal was "hotter than the hobs of hell." Does anybody know what "hobs" refers to?

Usenet · Accepted Answer

[nq:1]Somebody told me recently that there trip to Portugal was "hotter than the hobs of ****." Does anybody know what "hobs" refers to?[/nq]
From the Century Dictionary:
hob

5.A structure inserted ill a fireplace to diminish
its width, originally introduced when broad
open fireplaces were first fitted with grates for
the burning of coal; also, the level top of such
a structure, forming a space upon which any-
thing can be set which it is desired to keep hot.
They compounded some hot mixture in a jug . . . and put it on the hob to simmer.
Dickens, Christmas Carol, p. 44.

Skitt (in Hayward, California)
www.geocities.com/opus731/

Usenet · Answer

[nq:1]Somebody told me recently that there trip to Portugal was "hotter than the hobs of ****." Does anybody know what "hobs" refers to?[/nq]
The cooking elements of a stove, is a possibility.
Charles Riggs
For email, take the air out of aircom
and replace with eir

Usenet · Answer

[nq:1]Somebody told me recently that there trip to Portugal was "hotter than the hobs of ****." Does anybody know what "hobs" refers to?[/nq]
I notice that you are posting via sympatico.ca. I grew up with the "that there" form in Tennessee and Texas, and was surprised to see it from Canada. Normally, however, we use it only when the referent is clear, often made clear by pointing: "That there pickup darn near lost its load." I really have no idea which there trip to Portugal was hotter than the hobs of ****.
"Hobs" is slightly interesting, since there are several obvious candidates. It could refer to hobgoblins, or to what we in the US often call rangetops, or to flat metal shelves in fireplaces (similarly used).

Martin Ambuhl

Usenet · Answer

[nq:2]Somebody told me recently that there trip to Portugal was "hotter than the hobs of ****." Does anybody know what "hobs" refers to?[/nq]
[nq:1]The cooking elements of a stove, is a possibility.[/nq]
And, quite irrelevantly, Listen With Mother vets will know the little song:
"Hob shoe hob!
Hob shoe, hob!
Here a nail,
And there a nail,
And that's well shod!"
Hobnails lead further still. But I think have little to do with the aetiological tale explaining the diabolic propensity to avoid horseshoes: a smith asked by the Devil to shoe his hooves/hoofs used extra-sharp nails and extra-hot iron. The Earl of **** hobbled (ah, hobbled, now..!) off, vowing never to go near the trade again.

...and in some cultures, smiths have a priestly role.

Mike.

Usenet · Answer

[nq:2]Somebody told me recently that there trip to Portugal was "hotter than the hobs of ****." Does anybody know what "hobs" refers to?[/nq]
[nq:1]The cooking elements of a stove, is a possibility.[/nq]
Yes. In all this blizzard of erudition, no one has pointed out that, in Britain, 'hob' is the ordinary word for the top part (the business surface) of a kitchen stove (a 'cooker', in British parlance). Brits describe a pot or a kettle as being "on the hob", where a Yank would say "on top of the stove".
Even so, I surmise that the proverbial expression more likely involves the earlier sense of 'hob': a metal plate set near an open fire, on which cooking pots are placed to keep them hot.
This item, by the way, is the same word as 'hub', as in 'hub of activity'. Apparently the cooking hob was perceived as the center of activity in the kitchen.
Larry Trask

Usenet · Answer

howard richler wibbled
[nq:1]Somebody told me recently that there trip to Portugal was "hotter than the hobs of ****." Does anybody know what "hobs" refers to?[/nq]
I've never heard the phrase before but to me a hob is a set of rings (electric) or burners (gas) that you cook on. Like the top of a cooker (stove) but separate. I could quite imagine likening **** to a set of lit gas rings.
Jac

Usenet · Answer

[nq:2]The cooking elements of a stove, is a possibility.[/nq]
[nq:1]Yes. In all this blizzard of erudition, no one has pointed out that, in Britain, 'hob' is the ordinary word ... 'hub', as in 'hub of activity'. Apparently the cooking hob was perceived as the center of activity in the kitchen.[/nq]
That's interesting: OED1 is more cautious, saying the origin's obscure, but "cf HUB". Have they, er, nailed it now?

I think its use for the top of a gas or electric cooker may be relatively recent, and is perhaps commercialese. I say this because I learned the old sense first, and neither COD5 (1964) nor OED1 mentions it; and because I don't think I noticed the usage until separate hobs and ovens became fashionable (mine is a "ceramic hob").

"The kettle's on the hob" may, of course, have survived as a set expression without implying the word's transfer to the other sense.

Some hobs could be swivelled right over the fire, while others were fixed. Versions existed for ordinary open fireplaces as well as for old open-fire kitchen ranges ("Coalbrookdale stoves").

I think the British preference for "cooker" may be connected with the survival here of "stove" for all the closed-firebox stoves such as either the dual-purpose Aga or the potbellied stove. I wish I could remember, but I think people also used to call those portable kerosene heaters "oil stoves". In Australia we used "stove" for the single-purpose cooking appliance.
Mike.

Usenet · Answer

[nq:1]Yes. In all this blizzard of erudition, no one has pointed out that, in Britain, 'hob' is the ordinary word for the top part (the business surface) of a kitchen stove (a 'cooker', in British parlance).[/nq]
***. My message
Message-ID: Date: Sun, 07 Sep 2003 08:29:57 GMT
pointed that out:
[nq:1]"Hobs" is slightly interesting, since there are several obvious candidates. It could refer to hobgoblins, or to what we in the US often call rangetops, or to flat metal shelves in fireplaces (similarly used).[/nq]
Martin Ambuhl

Usenet · Answer

[nq:1]Even so, I surmise that the proverbial expression more likely involves the earlier sense of 'hob': a metal plate set ... 'hub', as in 'hub of activity'. Apparently the cooking hob was perceived as the center of activity in the kitchen.[/nq]
The focus, as it were (Latin "focus" = 'hearth')?
-Aaron J. Dinkin
Dr. Whom

Usenet · Answer

[nq:2]Yes. In all this blizzard of erudition, no one has ... surface) of a kitchen stove (a 'cooker', in British parlance).[/nq]
[nq:2]"Hobs" is slightly interesting, since there are several obvious candidates. ... rangetops, or to flat metal shelves in fireplaces (similarly used).[/nq]
Hold hard, Martin! What's wrong with what you quoted from Larry? I can assure you it's pretty well true that "hob" is at least replacing expressions like "stove-top", "the top of the cooker", "the rings", etc. And as for the bit about "hob"="hub", I dare say he's going to reply to my enquiry with the new evidence.
Mike.

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