I am going to introduce a new type of post for this blog. It is called W.I.P. of the Day which means word, idiom or phrase of the day. One of the things that I find fascinating is the Etymology of words, idioms and phrases. Some of this type of speech will be language that we use a lot, falling out of use or have become extinct.This is language that I find interesting and would like to re-introduce in our speech.
So with out further ado.
Hobson's Choice
We actually use this phrase still to this very day but we use the more familiar "Take it or leave it"! It is when you have an illusion of choice but you really have only one choice to make. This expression orginated with Thomas Hobson back between 1544 and 1631. He had a stable of 40 horses, but he would offer his customers the choice of either taking the horse nearest to the door of the stable or none at all. This was so that his horses would get rotated enough so that go plenty of exercise.
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