Hobson's choice

American  

[hob-suhnz] / ˈhɒb sənz /

noun

1. the choice of taking either that which is offered or nothing; the absence of a real alternative.

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Hobson's choice British  

/ ˈhɒbsənz /

noun

1. the choice of taking what is offered or nothing at all

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Hobson's choice Idioms  

1. An apparently free choice that actually offers no alternative. For example, My dad said if I wanted the car I could have it tonight or not at all—that's Hobson's choice. This expression alludes to Thomas Hobson of Cambridge, England, who rented horses and allowed each customer to take only the horse nearest the stable door. [Mid-1600s]

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Etymology

Origin of Hobson's choice

1640–50; after Thomas Hobson (1544–1631), of Cambridge, England, who rented horses and gave his customer only one choice, that of the horse nearest the stable door

Example Sentences

“In some ways, practices might be facing a Hobson’s choice, where they are damned if they do and they are damned if they don’t.”

From Slate • Mar. 17, 2026

He laments the use of fixed penalty notices, in which offenders are offered the Hobson’s choice of paying minor fines or fighting criminal offenses for a litany of “anti-social behaviors.”

From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 2, 2026

“This circumstance presents noncitizens in removal proceedings with a Hobson’s choice between two irreparable harms,” Judge P. Casey Pitts wrote in his Christmas Eve decision.

From Los Angeles Times • Dec. 25, 2025

Former acting Solicitor General Neal Kaytal said the ex-president will face a "Hobson's choice" to either answer questions or invoke his Fifth Amendment rights.

From Salon • Nov. 6, 2023

Three hundred or three hundred and fifty yards farther in we passed what the sailors of the fleet call "Hobson's choice," the steam-collier Merrimac.

From Campaigning in Cuba by Kennan, George