Definition of Hobson's choice in English:
Hobson's choice
nounˈhɒbs(ə)nzˈhɑbsənz ˌtʃɔɪs
A choice of taking what is available or nothing at all.
the regional council must decide whether a private toll bridge is better than no bridge at all—it's a Hobson's choice
Example sentencesExamples
- And attracting private investors to the state came to be the Hobson's choice.
- For many film-makers, handycams are a Hobson's choice.
- It is as if the diplomatic option given is Hobson's choice.
- Instead, the viewer gets this Hobson's choice: either torturous dubbing or no sound at all.
- They resent the fact that they will basically be given Hobson's choice.
- But Hobson's choice is no choice.
- But it's a Hobson's choice - if you invest in a country like Burma, you create problems.
- Hence, a Hobson's choice was not a choice at all.
- This gives transit planners a Hobson's choice: fewer buses equals infrequent service equals inconvenience equals no riders; frequent service means paying a bundle to run near-empty buses.
- Home furnishings became a Hobson's choice: mom's living room set and a yard-sale dining room table.
- Given this Hobson's choice, more than 100 families opted to lease.
- ‘That's the Hobson's choice you get when you hand juries these giant cases,’ he says.
- It looks like Hobson's choice for local councils lose your toilets now, or be forced to close them in three years' time.
- And why are we only offered this Hobson's choice of slowing down our decline instead of reversing it?
- There is not simply a Hobson's choice between free trade and no trade.
- Today, Begg has been offered a Hobson's choice.
- This is a cruel Hobson's choice that women will be forced to confront.
- I relished the opportunity to cook whatever I wanted when I chose, instead of having to take Hobson's choice of a warmed-over plate of fried rice back at the boardinghouse before the kitchen closed at 10 p.m.
- The choices they made were mostly Hobson's choices.
- Army senior leaders must not be placed in a position where the choice between manpower and long-term modernization/readiness is a Hobson's choice.
Origin
Mid 17th century: named after Thomas Hobson (1554–1631), a Cambridge carrier who hired out horses, giving the customer the ‘choice’ of the one nearest the door or none at all.
Definition of Hobson's choice in US English:
Hobson's choice
nounˈhɑbsənz ˌtʃɔɪsˈhäbsənz ˌCHois
A choice of taking what is available or nothing at all.
the regional council must decide whether a private toll bridge is better than no bridge at all—it's a Hobson's choice
Example sentencesExamples
- ‘That's the Hobson's choice you get when you hand juries these giant cases,’ he says.
- Home furnishings became a Hobson's choice: mom's living room set and a yard-sale dining room table.
- Today, Begg has been offered a Hobson's choice.
- Army senior leaders must not be placed in a position where the choice between manpower and long-term modernization/readiness is a Hobson's choice.
- The choices they made were mostly Hobson's choices.
- This is a cruel Hobson's choice that women will be forced to confront.
- And why are we only offered this Hobson's choice of slowing down our decline instead of reversing it?
- And attracting private investors to the state came to be the Hobson's choice.
- It is as if the diplomatic option given is Hobson's choice.
- They resent the fact that they will basically be given Hobson's choice.
- There is not simply a Hobson's choice between free trade and no trade.
- It looks like Hobson's choice for local councils lose your toilets now, or be forced to close them in three years' time.
- This gives transit planners a Hobson's choice: fewer buses equals infrequent service equals inconvenience equals no riders; frequent service means paying a bundle to run near-empty buses.
- Given this Hobson's choice, more than 100 families opted to lease.
- But Hobson's choice is no choice.
- Instead, the viewer gets this Hobson's choice: either torturous dubbing or no sound at all.
- But it's a Hobson's choice - if you invest in a country like Burma, you create problems.
- Hence, a Hobson's choice was not a choice at all.
- For many film-makers, handycams are a Hobson's choice.
- I relished the opportunity to cook whatever I wanted when I chose, instead of having to take Hobson's choice of a warmed-over plate of fried rice back at the boardinghouse before the kitchen closed at 10 p.m.
Origin
Mid 17th century: named after Thomas Hobson (1554–1631), a Cambridge carrier who hired out horses, giving the customer the ‘choice’ of the one nearest the door or none at all.