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Definition: Hobson's Choice |
Hobson's ChoiceNoun1. The choice of taking what is offered or nothing at all. Source: WordNet 1.7.1 Copyright © 2001 by Princeton University. All rights reserved. |
| Domain | Definitions |
Literature | Hobson's Choice This or none. Tobias Hobson was a carrier and innkeeper at Cambridge, who erected the handsome conduit there, and settled "seven lays" of pasture ground towards its maintenance. "He kept a stable of forty good cattle, always ready and fit for travelling; but when a man came for a horse he was led into the stable, where there was great choice, but was obliged to take the horse which stood nearest to the stable-door; so that every customer was alike well served, according to his chance, and every horse ridden with the same justice." (Spectator, No. 509.) Milton wrote two quibbling epitaphs upon this eccentric character. "Why is the greatest of free communities reduced to Hobson's choice?" - The Times. Source: Brewer's Dictionary. |
Slang in 1811 | HOBSON'S CHOICE. That or none; from old Hobson, a famous carrier of Cambridge, who used to let horses to the students; but never permitted them to chuse, always allotting each man the horse he thought properest for his manner of riding and treatment. Source: 1811 Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue. |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | |
(From Wikipedia, the free Encyclopedia)
The story concerns Henry Hobson, a tradesman who attempts unsuccessfully to control his daughter, Maggie.
The play has been filmed several times, originally in 1920 as a silent film with Joan Ritz as Maggie and Arthur Pitt as her father. It was filmed again in 1931, with James Harcourt as Hobson and Viola Lyel as Maggie.
The best-known film version is that of 1954, which starred Charles Laughton as Hobson and Brenda de Banzie as Maggie. John Mills played Will Mossup, Maggie's suitor, and Prunella Scales made her second film appearance as Vicky Hobson.
It was adapted for the American audience in the 1983 film version. It was set in 1914 New Orleans starring Jack Warden as Hobson and Sharon Gless as Maggie. The 1966 Broadway play Walking Happy tells the original story.
(From Wikipedia, the free Encyclopedia)
In colloquial English, Hobson's choice is an only apparently free choice that is no choice at all.The first written reference to the source of the phrase is in Joseph Addison's paper, The Spectator (14 October 1712). It also appears in Thomas Ward's poem England's Reformation written in 1688, but not published until after his death. Ward writes,
Hobson's choice is different from Catch-22 where both (or all) choices available contradict each other.
Hobson's Choice is a play based on the same concept. In this case a father (named Hobson) is presented with a Hobson's Choice in his relationship with his estranged daughter. He winds up both loving her and giving her a dowry when he wanted neither.
Henry Ford sold the Ford Model T with the famous Hobson's choice of "Any color so long as it's black"[1].
Source: adapted by the editor from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia under a copyleft GNU Free Documentation License (GFDL) from the article "Hobson's Choice."
| Context | Synonyms within Context (source: adapted from Roget's Thesaurus). |
Absence of Choice | Noun: no choice, Hobson's choice; first come first served, random selection; necessity; not a pin to choose; (equality); any, the first that comes; that or nothing. |
Compulsion | Restraint; necessity; force majeure; Hobson's choice. |
Necessity | Star, stars; planet, planets; astral influence; sky, Fates, Parcae, Sisters three, book of fate; God's will, will of Heaven; wheel of Fortune, Ides of March, Hobson's choice. |
| Source: adapted from Roget's Thesaurus. | |
Crosswords: Hobson's Choice |
| Specialty definitions using "Hobson's choice": Choice Spirit. (references) |
| Domain | Usage | |
Movie/TV Titles | Hobson's Choice (1954) | |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | ||
| Domain | Title |
Books | |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | |
| Thumbnail | Description & Credit | Thumbnail | Description & Credit |
 | Hobson's choice up to date.Credit: Library of Congress. |  | Hobson's choice -- you can go, or stay / J.A. Wales.Credit: Library of Congress. |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | |||
| Language | Translations for "Hobson's choice"; alternative meanings/domain in parentheses. | ||||||||||||||||
Greek | ανυπαρξία δυνατότητας επιλογή. (various references) | ||||||||||||||||
Italian | prendere o lasciare. (various references) | ||||||||||||||||
Pig Latin | obson'shay oicechay ทางเลือกระหว่างสิ่งที่เสนอมาให้หรือไม่ไ"้รับอะไรเลย. (various references) tek seçenek (zero option), tek olasılık. (various references) | ||||||||||||||||
Scrabble® Enable2K-Verified Anagrams | |
| Words within the letters "'-b-c-c-e-h-h-i-n-o-o-o-s-s" | |
-5 letters: cohesions. | |
| Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. SCRABBLE® is a registered trademark. All intellectual property rights in and to the game are owned in the U.S.A and Canada by Hasbro Inc., and throughout the rest of the world by J.W. Spear & Sons Limited of Maidenhead, Berkshire, England, a subsidiary of Mattel Inc. Mattel and Spear are not affiliated with Hasbro. | |
Hexadecimal (or equivalents, 770AD-1900s) (references)48 6F 62 73 6F 6E 27 73 43 68 6F 69 63 65 |
| Leonardo da Vinci (1452-1519; backwards) (references)
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Binary Code (1918-1938, probably earlier) (references)01001000 01101111 01100010 01110011 01101111 01101110 00100111 01110011 00100000 01000011 01101000 01101111 01101001 01100011 01100101 |
HTML Code (1990) (references)H o b s o n ' s   C h o i c e |
ISO 10646 (1991-1993) (references)0048 006F 0062 0073 006F 006E 0027 0073 0043 0068 006F 0069 0063 0065 |
Encryption (beginner's substitution cypher): (references)4281688581809852377481756971 |
| 1. Definition 2. Crosswords 3. Usage: Modern 4. Usage: Commercial | 5. Images: Photo Album 6. Translations: Modern 7. Anagrams 8. Orthography | 9. Bibliography |
Copyright © Philip M. Parker, INSEAD. Terms of Use.
