Chrysti The Wordsmith: Hobson's Choice

Good day we're lovers this is Christie the wordsmith. The expression Hobson's Choice refers to the frustrating decision of either taking exactly what's offered or taking nothing at all. The man immortalized in this phrase is Thomas Hobson a 17th century livery man an innkeeper in Cambridge England. Hobson also stabled some 40 horses for hire to the students of that city's prestigious university and to travellers between Cambridge and London to ensure that all of his horses were given equal time under the saddle. Thomas Hobson established a rotational rental system whereby the renter was required to ride the horse nearest the stable door and no other. This prevented his customers from habitue only renting and tiring the finest horses in the Hobson stable though the renter may have preferred for example the swift black mare he could not ride her until she appeared in Hobsons scheme of rotation. Thus the renter's only options were

Hobson's choice of horse or no horse at all. On January 18th 1907 Washington Post columnist Jonathan Yardley wrote this in an essay about a visit to Mississippi 25 years ago when I pulled off for lunch. The choice might have been a barbecue pit or a moon pie and a Dr Pepper. Now the choice is McDonald's or Wendy's a Hobson's choice if ever there was one. I'm Christie the wordsmith. Good day verb of course Christie the wordsmith is sponsored by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting and Zoot enterprises. A high tech firm in Bozeman Montana offering challenging careers and innovative solutions for the financial services industry sued web dotcom.