hobby horse vs obsession

hobby horse

noun
  • A topic about which someone loves to talk at great length. 

  • A child's toy consisting of a (usually wooden or cloth) horse's head mounted on a stick. 

  • The Irish hobby, an extinct breed of horse. 

  • A puppet-like costume used in some traditional dances and festivals that gives its wearer the appearance of a man on horseback. 

  • An early bicycle with no pedals or brakes; a draisienne. 

obsession

noun
  • An idea that engenders a compulsive or irrational preoccupation, or the preoccupation thereby engendered. 

  • The quality of being obsessed. 

  • Influence or control by evil spirits without possession. 

  • An activity or entity that inspires a compulsive and potentially unhealthy fixation, or the fixation thereby inspired. 

How often have the words hobby horse and obsession occurred in a corpus of books? (source: Google Ngram Viewer )