hoeboy (?)

[Douglas G. Wilson]

>My gut tells me (haven't had lunch yet) that "Hobey-men" is a
>misprint for "*Honey-men."
>   See HDAS for several exx. of "honey" in this sense.

Seems plausible if this is the only -- or nearly the only -- instance
of "hobey-man".

"Hobey-man" appears as a variant of "ho-boy" in (Jonathon Green's)
_Cassell's Dictionary of Slang_ (2nd ed.). Based on how many
citations, I don't know.

This book also presents an etymology: from "hoboy" = "oboe" used as a
humorous name for an enema tube. I'd like to see the evidence for
this derivation (I don't doubt the historical application of "hoboy"
= "oboe" to an enema tube).

-- Doug Wilson


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