It's really annoying when I'm browsing a page and my mouse "accidentally" moves over something and a giant thing pops up in front. Terrible UX. End up having to play dodge-the-mines with my mouse
I agree but I think there's a good balance: have a little "hover over me" widget. If you hate popups it's easy to avoid the widget, and it makes the hover experience more consistent as you move from line to line (assuming the widget is at the front so they all line up vertically)
I prefer clicks to hovers for this reason. A simple (Show example) button or (?) clickable question mark that spawns a small modal in-place and takes focus is more accessible, and there is no ambiguity of intent.