predicament (as in choice of taking what is offered or nothing; i.e. no real choice at all) n.: Hobson’s choice

[This term derives from Thomas Hobson (1544-1630), English liveryman, who required his customers to take the horse nearest to the stable door or no horse]. ❚ Most of the land in Sumatra is not legally registered or titled, so the people working it often do not have rights of ownership. If a corporate bigwig can negotiate a land-use permit from the central  government in Jakarta, the farmer faces a Hobson’s choice: sell to the only available buyer, or try to stay and be harassed and forced to sell anyway. (Author not given, Sumptuous Sumatra: Indonesia, The Economist, 09/24/1994, p. 33.)