Hobble Skirts
Preserved but no longer current.
Meaning · English
This women's fashion of skirts so tight round the ankles that the wearer was impeded in walking — much as a horse is hobbled — was at its height in 1912 and was gone by 1914.
Era: ca. 1898 (Victorian)
Sources & notes
Reproduced from Brewer’s Dictionary of Phrase and Fable (1898 edition, public domain; archive.org, retrieved 2026-07-31; OCR text, minor errors possible). Reflects the scholarship and attitudes of its era.
Common questions
What does “Hobble Skirts” mean?
This women's fashion of skirts so tight round the ankles that the wearer was impeded in walking — much as a horse is hobbled — was at its height in 1912 and was gone by 1914.
Is “Hobble Skirts” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.