play hob with

From Middle English Hob (a diminutive of Robin, from Old French [Term?], a diminutive of Robert) in its connection with Robin Goodfellow and (subsequently) the devil. Compare hobgoblin.

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play hob with (third-person singular simple present plays hob with, present participle playing hob with, simple past and past participle played hob with)

1. (idiomatic, dated UK, rustic US) mess with, cause trouble for
   • 1838 June 2, Mirror, N.Y, 387/1:

     They say it's playing hob with the fellers in these here parts.

   • 1940, D.A. Lord, Our Lady in the Modern World, iii. 141:

     The revolutionists who are playing hob with our generation are really masters of the obsolete.

   • 2010, Eliezer Yudkowsky, Harry Potter and the Methods of Rationality, §62:

     It'll play hob with my sleep schedule but I suppose it can't be helped. Please let the house elves know that if I ask for an early breakfast at, say, three A.M. tomorrow morning, I'm to receive it.

• (US) mess with
• (obsolete) play the devil (with)

• Oxford English Dictionary, 1st ed. "Hob, n.¹". Oxford University Press (Oxford), 1898.