Meaning
Merely wishing for something cannot make it happen or replace practical action. Often shortened to 'if wishes were horses'. It may sound brisk or unsympathetic when addressed to someone in genuine hardship. Regional use: Early Scots and wider British proverb; now international English.
Origin
James Carmichaell's early-seventeenth-century Collection of Proverbs in Scots, compiled before his death in 1628, includes 'If wishes were horses, beggers wald ryde'. William Camden printed a related thrushes-and-beggars form in the early 1600s, and John Ray later recorded a buttercakes version. The changing objects show a flexible oral proverb; the horses form became the survivor.
Research Sources
References used to check this entry’s meaning, history, or documented forms.
Variants
- If wishes were buttercakes, beggars might bite
- If wishes were horses, then beggars would ride
- If wishes were thrushes, beggars would eat birds
Usage Examples
- If wishes were horses, beggars would ride; submit the application before the deadline.
- He hoped the leak would fix itself, but if wishes were horses, beggars would ride.
- Planning needs a budget as well as optimism: if wishes were horses, beggars would ride.