Hobson's Choice

If these phrases weren't so obscure, I would love to bust them out in my writing:

Hobson's Choice -- a free choice in which only one option is offered, and one may refuse to take that option. The choice is therefore between taking the option or not; "take it or leave it." The phrase is said to originate from Thomas Hobson (1544–1631), a livery stable owner at Cambridge, England. To rotate the use of his horses he offered customers the choice of either taking the horse in the stall nearest the door or taking none at all.

Morton's Fork -- a choice between two equally unpleasant alternatives (in other words, a dilemma), or two lines of reasoning that lead to the same unpleasant conclusion. It is analogous to the expressions "between the devil and the deep blue sea" or "between a rock and a hard place."

Buridan's Ass -- a figurative description of a man of indecision. It refers to a paradoxical situation wherein an ass, placed exactly in the middle between two stacks of hay of equal size and quality, will starve to death since it cannot make any rational decision to start eating one rather than the other.

random latin word of the day

functus officio. This one is so obscure, even its Black's Law Dictionary definition is unclear. I think it means when a bureaucrat is out of a job because they performed all the functions they were commissioned to perform. More literally, it translates to... a great way to piss off your reader with an obscure phrase. Of course, it's obscure b/c why would bureaucrats finish all their work and thereby lose their authority?