Druthers, right? Listen to Joe and Tim try to figure this one out.
Meaning:
To have your preference, “if you could have it the way you want it”
Origin:
We did some research and talked about this with the mics off, unfortunately, and found out that it’s actually a contraction of sorts, stemming from “I would rather” / “I’d rather.”
Merriam-Webster cites the first known use is from 1870, and The Phrase Finder has it from the January 1870 edition of Overland Monthly and Out West Magazine as…
“If I was a youngster, I ‘drather set up in any perfession but a circus-driver, but a man can’t always have his ‘drathers.”