| 释义 |
Hobson's choice
Hob·son's choice H0228700 (hŏb′sənz)n. A choice between what is available and nothing; a lack of an alternative.
[After Thomas Hobson (1544?-1630), English keeper of a livery stable, from his requirement that customers take either the horse nearest the stable door or none.]Hobson's choice (ˈhɒbsənz) nthe choice of taking what is offered or nothing at all[C16: named after Thomas Hobson (1544–1631), English liveryman who gave his customers no choice but had them take the nearest horse]Hob′son's choice′ (ˈhɒb sənz)
n. the choice of taking either that which is offered or nothing; the absence of a real alternative. [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] Thesaurus| Noun | 1. | Hobson's choice - the choice of taking what is offered or nothing at allalternative, option, choice - one of a number of things from which only one can be chosen; "what option did I have?"; "there no other alternative"; "my only choice is to refuse" |
TranslationsHobson's choice
Hobson's choiceSomething that seems to be a choice but isn't. The phrase refers to British stable owner Thomas Hobson, who was known to act as though he only had one horse to rent to each patron, even when his stable was full. A: "This rental car is terrible." B: "Well, did you want to walk all the way from the airport to the hotel? It was Hobson's choice."See also: choiceHobson's choicethe choice between taking what is offered and getting nothing at all. (From the name of a stable owner in the seventeenth century who always hired out the horse nearest the door.) We didn't really want that particular hotel, but it was a case of Hobson's choice. We booked very late and there was nothing else left. If you want a yellow car, it's Hobson's choice. The garage has only one.See also: choiceHobson's choiceAn 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] See also: choiceHobson's choice mainly BRITISHYou can call a decision Hobson's choice when it forces you to choose something because in reality there is no other choice available. He was faced with a Hobson's choice between obedience and ruin, so he gave in to their demands. Only the satellite companies were offering enough money to screen the games, so it was Hobson's choice really. Note: This expression may refer to a man called Thomas Hobson, who earned money by hiring out horses at the end of the 16th century. He had a particular system for using each horse in turn, so a customer was given no choice, even if there were many horses available. See also: choiceHobson's choice no choice at all. Thomas Hobson , to whom this expression refers, was a carrier at Cambridge in the early 17th century, who would not allow his clients their own choice of horse from his stables as he insisted on hiring them out in strict rotation. They were offered the ‘choice’ of the horse nearest the door or none at all. Hobson's choice is also mid 20th-century British rhyming slang for voice .See also: choiceˌHobson’s ˈchoice the choice of taking what is offered or nothing at all, in reality no choice at all: It’s Hobson’s choice really, as this is the only room they have empty at the moment.This expression refers to a 17th-century Cambridge man, Tobias Hobson, who hired out horses; he would give his customers the ‘choice’ of the horse nearest the stable door or none at all.See also: choiceHobson's choiceA choice that represents no choice at all; an enforced decision. The term supposedly originated with the practice of a Cambridge, England, carrier named Thomas Hobson (1544–1631), who insisted that his customers take whichever horse was nearest the stable door. If they refused that horse, he would give them no other. Whether this origin is true or not, the term was adopted and appeared in print in several mid-seventeenth-century sources. It is heard less often today.See also: choiceHobson's choiceNo choice at all, take it or leave it. Thomas Hobson ran a livery stable in Cambridge, England, in the 16th century. He had a simple policy about renting out his horses: you took what he gave you or you went horseless (some accounts say he rented whichever animal was in the stall nearest the door). Hobson's spirit lives on in the joke about a passenger aboard El Al Airlines who asked the flight attendant what the choice of dinner was. She replied with a smile, “The choice is yes or no.”See also: choiceHobson's choice
Related to Hobson's choice: Occam's RazorWords related to Hobson's choicenoun the choice of taking what is offered or nothing at allRelated Words |