Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English homepage

Date: 1600-1700
Origin: Probably from Thomas Hobson (1554-1631), who rented out horses and would only let his customers take the horse nearest the door

Hobson's choice

 noun
     
Hob‧son's choice [uncountable]
a situation in which there is only one thing you can do, so you do not really have any choice at all
Definition from the Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English
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