Dictionary

Hobson's choice en · NOUN

Pronunciation

• audio -
• /ˌhɒbs(ə)nz ˈt͡ʃɔɪs/ (Received-Pronunciation)
• /ˌhɑbsənz ˈt͡ʃɔɪs/ (General-American)
• (General-American) audio

Etymology

From Hobson + -’s + choice, widely claimed to have been named after Thomas Hobson (c. 1544–1631) 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. The Oxford English Dictionary also suggests an alternative etymology based on a 1607 work, The Pleasant Conceites of Old Hobson, 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. 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).

Meanings

1. (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.
   • 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. 2011 January 13, Lawrence Wright, “Lebanon’s Tragic Hero”, in The New Yorker, New York, N.Y.: Condé Nast Publications, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 03 Jun 2023:
   • 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. 2009 November 20, Stephen King, “Raymond Carver’s life and stories”, in The New York Times Book Review, New York, N.Y.: The New York Times Company, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 22 Aug 2025:
   • 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. 1883 (date written; published 1884), George Bernard Shaw, chapter V, in An Unsocial Socialist, London: Swan Sonnenschein, Lowrey & Co., […], published 1887, →OCLC, book I, page 71:
   • "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." 2022, Stephen King, chapter 8, in Fairy Tale […], New York, N.Y.: Scribner, →ISBN, page 132:
   • 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. 1847, [James Fenimore Cooper], chapter VIII, in The Crater; or, Vulcan’s Peak. A Tale of the Pacific. […], volume II, New York, N.Y.: Burgess, Stringer & Co., →OCLC, pages 116–117:
   • 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. [1670, J[ohn] R[ay], “Proverbial Phrases and Forms of Speech that are Not Entire Sentences. [Hobsons Choice.]”, in A Collection of English Proverbs […], Cambridge, Cambridgeshire: […] John Hayes, printer to the University, for W. Morden, →OCLC, page 181:
2. (broadly, idiomatic) A choice between several undesirable options; Sophie's choice.
3. (Cockney, slang) The voice.
   • He's claiming copyright on his hobson's. / I beg your pardon. / His hobson's choice—his voice. 1959, Ray Galton, Alan Simpson, Hancock’s Half Hour, season 6; quoted in “Hobson’s (choice) n.”, in Green’s Dictionary of Slang, 2026:

Forms

Relateds

take it or leave it (illusion of free choice) · beggars can't be choosers (illusion of free choice) · between the devil and the deep blue sea · between a rock and a hard place (choice between undesirable options) · in a dilemma

Synonyms

dilemma · Sophie's choice · quandary · nonchoice · no-win situation · Hobson's · Morton's fork · Catch-22 · Hobson's choice

Translations (15)

pt escolha de Hobson (situation where a person is presented with the illusion of a free choice, but must either accept the offer or having nothing at all) · ru выбор Хобсона (situation where a person is presented with the illusion of a free choice, but must either accept the offer or having nothing at all) · fi Hobsonin valinta (situation where a person is presented with the illusion of a free choice, but must either accept the offer or having nothing at all) · bg избор на Хобсън (situation where a person is presented with the illusion of a free choice, but must either accept the offer or having nothing at all) · fi valinta ilman varsinaista vaihtoehtoa (situation where a person is presented with the illusion of a free choice, but must either accept the offer or having nothing at all) · hu eszi, nem eszi, nem kap mást (situation where a person is presented with the illusion of a free choice, but must either accept the offer or having nothing at all) · fr choix de Hobson (situation where a person is presented with the illusion of a free choice, but must either accept the offer or having nothing at all) · cmn 霍伯森的選擇 /霍伯森的选择 (situation where a person is presented with the illusion of a free choice, but must either accept the offer or having nothing at all) · ar خيار هوبسون (situation where a person is presented with the illusion of a free choice, but must either accept the offer or having nothing at all) · es elección de Hobson (situation where a person is presented with the illusion of a free choice, but must either accept the offer or having nothing at all) · de friss oder stirb (situation where a person is presented with the illusion of a free choice, but must either accept the offer or having nothing at all) · id pilihan Hobson (situation where a person is presented with the illusion of a free choice, but must either accept the offer or having nothing at all) · nl Hobson-keuze (situation where a person is presented with the illusion of a free choice, but must either accept the offer or having nothing at all) · az Hobson seçimi (situation where a person is presented with the illusion of a free choice, but must either accept the offer or having nothing at all) · it scelta di Hobson (situation where a person is presented with the illusion of a free choice, but must either accept the offer or having nothing at all)

wikipedia: George Eld · wikipedia: Oxford English Dictionary