hobble

Etymology

From Middle English hobblen, hobelen, akin to Middle Dutch hoblen, hobbelen (Modern Dutch hobbelen).

noun

1. (chiefly in the plural) One of the short straps tied between the legs of unfenced horses, allowing them to wander short distances but preventing them from running off.
2. An unsteady, off-balance step.
3. (archaic, informal) A difficult situation; a scrape.
   "Saddle a horse—any horse—only let him be sure and fleet," cried Ashwoode, "and I'll pay you his price thrice over!" "Well, it's a bargain," replied the groom, promptly; "I don't like to see a gentleman caught in a hobble, if I can help him out of it. […] 1845, Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu, The Cock and Anchor
4. (dialect, UK and Newfoundland) An odd job; a piece of casual work.

verb

1. To fetter by tying the legs; to restrict (a horse) with hobbles.
   you hobble your old horse and turn him grazing 1865, Charles Dickens, Doctor Marigold
2. To walk lame, or unevenly.
3. (figurative) To move roughly or irregularly.
   The hobbling versification, the mean diction. 1815, William Wordsworth, The White Doe of Rylstone
4. To perplex; to embarrass.