Hobsonize; to kiss,
from the only person in history whose name the dictionaries immortalize in this
way. Lieutenant Richard Pearson Hobson (1870-1937) won fame during the
Spanish-American War, stepping into the national limelight when he tried to sink
the collier Merrimac and block Santiago Harbor. No matter that Hobson
and his seven men failed on that morning of June 3, 1898 - a Spanish shell hit
the steering gear and their ship sank in a broad part of the channel where it
couldn"t prevent Admiral Pascual Cervara's squadron from leaving - because other
tactics were employed and the entire Spanish fleet was destroyed at the battle
of Santiago a month later. Hobson, a handsome Annapolis graduate - known there
as "The Parson" for his religious fervor - became a hero for leading the daring
early morning mission.
The Young naval
engineer was honored with parades and dinners wherever he went when he returned
to the United States in August 1898. His good looks and popularity led to his
name becoming a verb meaning to kiss: women often flung their arms
around him and showered him with kisses when he appeared in public. "Kissing
Bug Hobson," as he was called, resigned from the Navy and ran for Congress back
home in Alabama, a state that later gave us another osculatory politician,
Governor "Kissin" Jim" Folsom. At any rate, the hero got himself elected,
serving from 1907 to 1915. Hobson adopted the prohibition cause, advocated
naval expansion and lectured around the country. Though hobsonize is an
obsolete expression today, it remains in historical dictionaries as one of the
most curious of linguistic curiosities.