| 单词 | hobson's choice |
| 释义 | > as lemmasHobson's choice c. Hobson's choice: the option of taking the one thing offered or nothing; also rhyming slang for ‘voice’; frequently elliptical.Named from Tobias Hobson, the Cambridge carrier (commemorated by Milton in two Epitaphs), who let out horses, and is said to have compelled customers to take the horse which happened to be next the stable-door, or go without. See Spectator 1712 No. 509. ΘΚΠ the mind > will > free will > choice or choosing > [noun] > scope for choice > absence of noneeOE force-put1658 Hobson's choice1660 put1805 the world > physical sensation > hearing and noise > voice or vocal sound > [noun] reirdOE voicec1330 stevenc1369 sound1385 laita1400 lively voice1532 pipe1567 live voice1610 vocalities1667 squall1725 vox1869 Hobson's choice1937 1660 S. Fisher Rusticus ad Academicos i. 74 If in this case there be no other (as the Proverb is) then Hobsons Choice..which is chuse whether you will have this or none. 1691 A. Wood Athenæ Oxonienses II. 331 The Masters were left to Hobsons choice, to choose Bennet and no body else. a1708 T. Ward England's Reformation (1716) 326 Where to elect there is but one, 'Tis Hobson's choice, Take that or none. 1742 R. North & M. North Life F. North 86 They wanted a Competition to make the Money fly; and they said, Hobson's Choice was no Choice. 1858 R. S. Surtees Ask Mamma xliii It was a case of Hobson's choice with them. 1937 in E. Partridge Dict. Slang 394/2 1960 Observer 17 Jan. 19/1 Her Hobson's (rhyming slang for voice) is one of the most vibrant in the business. 1961 New Statesman 14 July 43/3 The landlady, Queenie Watts, throws her Hobsons (Hobson's choice = voice) so hard that on a clear night you could hear it in Canning Town. < as lemmas |
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