Hobson's Choice Hobson's Choice is basically giving you the option of taking your favorite thing or nothing. So, it's not a real choice at all. The phrase originates from a practice of a 17th-century Cambridgeshire stable owner called Hobson, whose customers had to take the horse closest to the door, which was actually Hobson's choice. The phrase has been passed down for many generations and is now used by large numbers of people. In the play 'Hobson's Choice', Harry Hobson lives in Salford above his boot shop with his three daughters, Alice, twenty-three, Vickey, twenty-one and Maggie, Vickey's seven-year-old eldest. Hobson is a middle-class man who receives his income from his own shop. This shop of yours is a boot shop. He, however, takes no part in the operation. His eldest daughter, Maggie, is his main source of income. His talent for persuasion and a boot maker, Willie Mossop, go well as a partnership; its natural craftsmanship offers a noteworthy purchase. Hobson, while the store is in operation, usually spends his time at Moonraker's Inn. He usually met with JimHealer, his partner. Hobson creates an image of himself as a rather domineering character. His hypocrisy is a main ingredient of his domineering behavior. Attitude and feelings immediately change when Mrs. Hepworth, a first class citizen, walks into her shop while pampering her.