HOBSON'S CHOICE, i.e., "this or nothing," an expression that arose from the refusal of the Cambridge-London carrier, Thomas Hobson (1544-163o), when letting his horses on hire, to allow any animal to leave the stable out of its turn. Among other bequests made by Hobson, and commemorated by Milton, was a conduit for the Cambridge market-place. See Spectator, No. 509, Oct. 14, 1712.