無從選擇

Making choices is necessary， but not always easy. Many of our expressions tell about this difficulty.

One of these expressions is “Hobson’s choice.” It often is used to describe a difficult choice. But that is not what it really means. Its real meaning is to have no choice at all. The Hobson in the expression was Thomas Hobson. Mr. Hobson owned a stable of horses in Cambridge， England. Mr. Hobson often rented horses to the students at Cambridge University. But， he did not really trust them to take good care of the horses. So， he had a rule that prevented the students from riding his best horses. They could take the horse that was nearest the stable door. Or， they could not take any horse at all. Thus， a Hobson’s choice was really no choice.

Another expression for having no real choice is “between a rock and a hard place.” It is often used to describe a difficult situation with few choices—none of them good. For example， your boss may ask you to work late. But you have plans to go to a movie with your friends. If you refuse to work， your boss gets angry. But if you do not go to the movies with your friends， they may get angry. So what do you do？ You are “caught between a rock and a hard place.”

Another expression—“between the devil and the deep blue sea”—also gives you a choice between two equally dangerous things. Its meaning seems clear. You can choose the devil and his burning fires of hell. Or， you can choose to drown in the sea. Some word experts say the expression comes from the days of wooden ships. The “devil” is a word for a seam between two pieces of wood along the water-line of a ship. If the seam or crack between the two pieces of wood begins to leak， then a sailor must fix it. The sailor ordered to make the repairs was in a dangerous situation. He was hanging over the side of the ship， working “between the devil and the deep blue sea.”

There is still another expression that describes a situation with only bad choices—being “on the horns of a dilemma.” The dictionary says a dilemma is a situation in which you must make a decision about two equally balanced choices. When your dilemma has horns， a choice becomes impossible. When you are “on the horns of a dilemma” no matter which horn you choose， something bad will happen.

“Hobson’s choice”的意思是“毫無選擇余地”。這個短語起源于十六世紀的英國，當時有位名叫Thomas Hobson的商人，他的工作就是駕著載人四輪大馬車在倫敦和劍橋之間往返，并且把閑置的馬匹出租給劍橋大學的學生。Hobson總是對他的顧客說：你們可以選擇任何自己看中的馬，只要它是離馬廄門最近的那一匹。他的不近人情使顧客沒有任何選擇的余地，因此招致了不少租借馬匹的人的微詞。后來，Hobson’s choice的說法就逐漸傳開了。其實Hobson是一個聰明人，他為他的馬兒們制定了科學的“作息制度”，跑路最多最勞累的馬兒被拴在馬廄最里頭，而最近沒怎么“出工”的馬兒則拴在門口供人挑選。可是前來租馬的學生們總喜歡跑到馬廄后頭挑挑揀揀，也難怪愛馬心切的Hobson先生會給出這種“沒得選的選擇”了。

短語“between a rock and a hard place”從字面上解釋是“在巖石與硬壁之間”。 試設想，要是一艘船遇到風浪，一邊是大巖石，另一邊是峭壁，這艘船想要從這兩者之間很窄的水面安全地脫險，該有多么不容易。在這種情況下，必須作出正確的決定，但是有的時候又似乎沒有什么好辦法，于是便面臨著“左右為難”或“進退兩難”的局面。“between a rock and a hard place”就是這個意思。

“between the devil and the deep blue sea”也表達了同樣的意思。“bule sea” 常用來比喻困難和危險，“devil”和 “blue sea” 代表兩種同樣不利、同樣危險、同樣不盡人意的局面。因此，短語“between the devil and the deep blue sea”的意思是“在兩者之間腹背受敵、進退兩難、里外不討好”。

“dilemma”指的是必須對兩個均衡選項作出選擇，表示進退兩難；“horns”是“尖角”的意思，在西方，人們認為“horns”代表著evil。因此，短語“on the horns of a dilemma”指的是面臨著兩難的抉擇，但無論選擇哪一個，都會有不好的事發生。