A phrase I heard used from time to time when I was a child and one I have been known to employ in times of sheer frustration when faced with a truculent toddler.
Reading "I Never Knew That About England" by Christopher Winn last week I came across this small snippet as to why we say Hobson's Choice. Thomas Hobson was a 16th century Mayor of Cambridge who also brought fresh water into the city via Hobson's Conduit. Furthermore, as a carrier he would also hire out his horses in strict rotation- basically the customer could have any horse he wanted except it had to be the one standing next to the stable door! It is easy to see where Henry Ford drew his inspiration from with his famous quote about his Model T Ford car "Any customer can have a car painted any color that he wants so long as it is black"!!
Arilx
The life and adventures of a mildly dotty old bird.
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Yaayy, Aril's arrived in Blogdom :) And off to a lurrvelly start she is too!
ReplyDeleteThanks Kadeeae- this I think will be great fun and I get to rattle away on a eclectic mix of topics!
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