Hobson's choice
Take it, period
A Hobson's choice is no real choice at all—the appearance of options when only one exists.
The phrase comes from a 17th-century stable owner who required customers to take the horse nearest the door or none.
It was Hobson's choice: accept the job transfer or resign.
- ultimatumNon-negotiable final terms
- take it or leave itNon-negotiable final offer
- one-way streetRoute forbidding reverse travel
- last resortFinal available option
- between a rock and a hard placeFacing only bad options
only option · forced hand · lesser of two evils · livery stable · no alternative · framing effect · determinism · false dichotomy · all or nothing · ethical dilemma · learned helplessness · predestination · decision fatigue · cognitive dissonance · utilitarianism · fait accompli · consequentialism · coercion
- predicamentspredicament, dilemma, bind, pickle, pinch
- paradoxescatch-22, Zeno's paradox, Zeno's paradoxes, causal loop, bootstrap paradox
Hobson's choicespoiled for choice
Having too many options
embarrassment of riches · free choice · smorgasbord · cornucopia · variety
Hobson's choicefree choice
Unrestricted decision-making power
free rein · carte blanche · free will · pick of the litter · buyer's market
choice, choices, choose, chose, chosen, choosing, chooser, choosy