Definition of "hobnail" [hob•nail]

• A short nail with a thick head used to protect the soles of shoes or boots. (noun)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

• "“If all the generals put away their hobnail boots, war would forever be put away."
• "All the beautiful little hints of intrigue were stomped down with movie-length hobnail boots."
• "This did not work out the way I thought it was going to, as a matter of fact the dark thing only stepped on my chest a couple of times with its hobnail feet and then rolled me back into the opposite direction, with very little effort I might add."