"Who‘s Hobson?" Fiona asked. "What washis choice?"
Klaus smiled. "Thomas Hobson lived inBritain in the seventeenth century," he said.
"He was in charge of a stable, and according tolegend, he always told his customers they had achoice: they could take the horse closest to thedoor, or no horse at all."
"That‘s not really a choice," Fiona said.
Violet smiled. "Precisely," she said. "A Hob-son‘s choice is something that‘s not a choice atall. It‘s an expression our mother used to use.
She‘d say, I‘ll give you a Hobson‘s choice, Vio-let-you can clean your room or I will stand inthe doorway and sing your least favorite songover and over.‘
- P146