HOB-NOB, or HAB-NAB, a cant word formed from hap ne hap, and denoting an event which happens at random, or by mere chance.
HOBSON'S CHOICE, a vulgar proverbial expression, applied to that kind of choice in which there is no alternative. It is said to be derived from the name of a carrier at Cambridge, who let out hackney horses, and obliged each customer to take in his turn that horse which stood next the stable door.