The James T. Callow Folklore Archive

Hobson's Choice

My grandfather always used to say there was this stable owner named Hobson, and his stable had good horses, and also some that weren't so good. And people would always come in and ask for the good horses. But the good horses were getting worn out. So he gave them the next horse that was in line, and it was "Hobson's choice" what horse they got.

Submitter comment:

Hobson's choice is a saying used to describe a situation in which an object chosen from a number of the same objects had an equal possibility of being either good or bad. The informant described the origin of the saying as follows.

Where learned: MICHIGAN ; HARPER WOODS ; 20824 Kelly Rd.