Definitions
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
- n. Informal A choice or preference: "Given their druthers, these hell-for-leather free marketeers might sell the post office” ( George F. Will).
Wiktionary
- n. Wishes, preferences, or ways.
WordNet 3.0
- n. the right or chance to choose
Etymologies
- Alteration of the phrase 'd rather, from would rather.
Examples
“I like to say that I've never met a cookie I didn't like, but like most people, I do have my 'druthers'.”
“More than a third of American voters were denied having their "druthers" even mentioned or brought to "the table", and watched as single payer advocates were forcefully removed from the hearing room.”
“My views therefore have strengthened, but I recognize that the ability to act on my "druthers" is limited.”
“At the least, it might behoove us to accept and make the best of it, rather than whine about our "druthers" and cast about for someone, or something, to blame.”
“Huffed he, “When fitness nuts have their druthers we die of exhaustion to encourage the others to get in shape and not take their health for granted.””
“If I had my druthers, NATO would send in warplanes to take out every one of these knuckleheads.”
The Wall Street Journal: Three Tips for Surviving the Art Museum
“If I had my druthers, the new movie would feature - an outright conflict with the Mirror, Mirror universe; rip in the space-time continuum, BAD Federation meanies decide that it's great for their individual and multiple ambitions, and someone invents a giant, planet-sized agonizer.”
“Whom would I out, if I had my druthers and a sudden absence of judgement?”
“If he had his druthers, it would be put off for several years to allow alternative groups to mature.”
The Wall Street Journal: A Democrat's Triumphal Return to Cairo
“My druthers would be a upper house (Senate) elected by mixed party list preportional vote (all parties that get 10%+ of the popular vote) and a local single vote for the lower house (Commons).”
Think Progress » Santorum excuses Graham’s anti-Muslim comments, calls them ‘reasonable.’
Lists
These user-created lists contain the word ‘druthers’.
reesetee That one gets me every time! Jul 25, 2007
jennarenn Oh my. (blushing) Jul 25, 2007
oroboros J, see just deserts. Jul 25, 2007
reesetee I know I have one, and "druthers" is on it. Someone else may have gotten the same idea. :-) Jul 25, 2007
jennarenn I love that this word is always plural, like just desserts. Doesn't somebody have a list of these somewhere? Jul 25, 2007