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From: cib@lanl.ARPA
Newsgroups: net.games.trivia
Subject: Re: Hobson's Choice
Message-ID: <20359@lanl.ARPA>
Date: Sun, 27-Jan-85 08:26:17 EST
Article-I.D.: lanl.20359
Posted: Sun Jan 27 08:26:17 1985
Date-Received: Sat, 2-Feb-85 20:46:38 EST
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Organization: Los Alamos National Laboratory
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> The combined resources of the net ought to be able to solve this for me:
> 
> 	Who was Hobson?  What was the choice he had to make?
> 
> Thanks.
> 
> Wayne Citrin
> (ucbvax!citrin)

Brewer's Dictionary of Phrase and Fable gives:

Hobson's Choice means no choice at all. The saying derives
eponymously from Thomas Hobson (1544?-1631), a Cambridge carrier
well known in his day (he is celebrated in Fuller's Worthies and
in two epitaphs by Milton), who refused to let out any horse
except in its proper turn.