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"hobby-horse"
Discussion
Act 3,
Scene 2
Lines 125-128

An explanation of Hamlet’s mention of the “hobby-horse” in Act 3, Scene 2 of myShakespeare’s Macbeth.

Hamlet    

may outlive his life halfa year. But, by'r Lady, he must
build churches then, or else shall he suffer not thinking on, 
with the hobby-horse whose epitaph is:
"For oh, for oh, the hobby-horse is forgot."    

Hobby-horses were a children’s toy consisting of a stick topped with a horse’s head. This toy evolved from original hobby-horses: large horse costumes worn by dancers participating in May Day festivals. In the late 1500s, hobby-horses began to be omitted from festivals, prompting the composition of the ballad which mourns, “For oh, for oh, the hobby-horse is forgot.”  But hobby-horse was also a derogatory term for women who have multiple sexual partners. Bringing up hobby-horses immediately after referring to his mother allows Hamlet to fire another insult at her.