Hobson’s Choice

Derived from the name of a 16th-17th century British livery stable owner, Thomas Hobson, a “Hobson’s Choice” is a seeming choice between two things that’s actually, on a practical level, not a choice at all.

The archetypical example of this concept is “take it or leave it,” in a context in which the “leave it” option isn’t really an option: if you’re starving and need something to eat, for instance, and you’re offered the choice between food you don’t like or no food at all, that’s a Hobson’s Choice.

In Thomas Hobson’s case, he would offer his customers a choice between the horse in the stall closest to the door, or not getting a horse, which no doubt simplified the process of getting customers in and out quickly (his stable was pretty big, and that process could have otherwise taken a while), but it also allowed him to keep his best horses from being run ragged, as otherwise they would tend to be chosen over the less-desirable ones.