Hobson's choice

English 2026 January 5 thumb|upright|A 1629 portrait of Thomas Hobson (1544 1 – 1631),n n1 From the collection of the National Portrait Gallery in London, England, United Kingdom. after whom the term is widely said to have been named. Etymology From en Hobson + en -'s -’s + en choice, widely claimed to have been en Thomas Hobson Thomas Hobson (postal carrier) c. 1544 1631 1 of Cambridge, England, who rented horses and had an extensive stable, but is said to have required each customer to take the horse in the stall closest to the door, to prevent the best horses from always being chosen and becoming overused.Hobson’s choice n 7550797533 September 2025 1; Hobson’s choice n The Oxford English Dictionary also suggests an alternative etymology based on a 1607 work, The Pleasant Conceites of Old Hobson,Richard Johnson The Pleasant Conceites of Old Hobson the Merry Londoner.Full of Humorous Discourses, and Witty Meriments. Whereat the Quickest Wittes may Laugh, and the Wiser Sort Take Pleasure. Printed at London [By George Eld] for Iohn Wright,and are to bee sold at his shoppe neere Christ-Church gate 1607 1351238138. which refers to one William Hobson (died 1581), a haberdasher from London, who is said to have been unable to recognize his own horse, and so had the habit of waiting at stables until other people had claimed their horses as the one remaining had to be his.Pleasant Conceites (1607), republished in Richard Johnson W[illiam] Carew Hazlitt The Pleasant Conceites of Old Hobson, the Merry Londoner. Full of Humorous Discourses and Witty Merriments, whereat the Quickest Wittes may Laugh, the Wiser Sort Take Pleasure. Reprinted from the Rare Original,and Edited, with Introduction and Notes, by W. Carew Hazlitt. Old English Jest Books London Willis and Sotheran,136, Strand. 1866 34 https://books.google.com/books?id=Zqnt9LnJnyAC&pg=PA34 10494450 [H]is neighbour found him sitting at the Inne gate, booted and spurd, in a browne studdy, to whome hee saide: for shame, Maister Hobson, why sitte you heare? Marry, quoth Master Hobson, here be so many horses, that I cannot tell which is mine owne, and I know well, when every man is ridden and gone, the horse that remaneth behind must needs be mine. This story is most likely fictional as it is identical to one entitled “Of the Two Yong Men that Rode to Walsingham” in Mery Tales and Quick Answeres (1530).Pleasant Conceites (1866), page 34, footnote 1. Pronunciation en /ˌhɒbs(ə)nz ˈt͡ʃɔɪs/ RP en /ˌhɑbsənz ˈt͡ʃɔɪs/ GA en LL-Q1860 (eng)-Naomi Persephone Amethyst (NaomiAmethyst)-Hobson's choice.wav GAen En-us-Hobson's choice.oga - en ɔɪs 3 en Hob son’s choice Noun en idiomatic A situation where a person is presented with the illusion of a free choice, but in reality there is only one option available: accepting the offer or having nothing at all. en nonchoice Hobsons Choice 181 A man is ſaid to have Hobſons choice given him, vvhen he muſt either take vvhat is left him, or chooſe vvhether he vvill have any part or no. on II VIII 116–117 116 Several other marriages took place, the scarcity of subjects making it somewhat hazardous to delay: when Hobson's choice is placed before one, deliberation is of no great use. V 71 In other words, they might go to the devil and starve—Hobson's choice!—for all the other factories were owned by men who offered no better terms. 20 November 2009 w:Stephen King Raymond Carver’s life and stories https://web.archive.org/web/20250822113654/https://www.nytimes.com/2009/11/22/books/review/King-t.html This Hobson’s choice is the beating heart of "Raymond Carver: A Writer's Life." Any writer might wonder what he'd do in such a case. 13 January 2011 w:Lawrence Wright Lebanon’s Tragic Hero https://web.archive.org/web/20230603143726/https://www.newyorker.com/news/news-desk/lebanons-tragic-hero Such Hobson's choices are the stuff of high drama, but unfortunately for poor, lovely Lebanon it is a tragedy that never seems to end. en 2022 w:Stephen King 8 Fairy Talea Novel New York, N.Y. Scribner 132 978-1-66800-217-9 "Hobson's Choice." He was still stroking Radar, long glides of his hand from nape to tail. "In the end, it seems to me that one or two good months are better than six bad ones. If it works at all, that is." en by extension loosely A choice between several undesirable options; Sophie's choice. en Thesaurus:dilemma en Cockney rhyming slang The voice. en Hobson's<q:ellipsis> en 1959 w:Ray Galton; Alan Simpson Hancock’s Half Hour 6 quoted in Hobson’s (choice) n. https://greensdictofslang.com/entry/6hwvp5q Green’s Dictionary of Slang 2026 He's claiming copyright on his hobson's. / I beg your pardon. / His hobson's choice—his voice. Translations situation where a person is presented with the illusion of a free choice, but must either accept the offer or having nothing at all Arabic: ar خيار هوبسون Azerbaijani: az Hobson seçimi Bulgarian: bg избор на Хобсън m Chinese: Mandarin: cmn 霍伯森的選擇 Huòbósēn de xuǎnzé Dutch: nl Hobson-keuze f Finnish: fi Hobsonin valinta, fi valinta ilman varsinaista vaihtoehtoa French: fr choix de Hobson m German: de friss oder stirb Hungarian: hu eszi, nem eszi, nem kap mást [whether he or she] eats it, [or he or she] doesn’t eat it, [he or she] will not get [anything] else Indonesian: id pilihan Hobson Italian: it scelta di Hobson f Polish: pl wybór Hobsona m-in Portuguese: pt escolha de Hobson f Russian: ru выбор Хобсона Spanish: es elección de Hobson f Ukrainian: uk choice between several undesirable options Sophie's choice voice See also illusion of free choice en beggars can't be choosers, en take it or leave it choice between undesirable options en between a rock and a hard place, en between the devil and the deep blue sea, Thesaurus:in a dilemma Notes n References Further reading n Hobson's (choice) 6hwvp5q n