if wishes were horses

Idioms  

1. If one could readily have what one wanted, life would be easy. For example, Wendy would love a brand-new car for her sixteenth birthday but—if wishes were horses. This expression is a shortening of If wishes were horses, beggars would ride, first recorded about 1628 in a collection of Scottish proverbs.

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Example Sentences

She also penned adult novels Save Johanna! in 1981 and If Wishes Were Horses in 1994.

From BBC

“If wishes were horses, then beggars would ride.”

From Literature

“If wishes were horses, beggars would ride,” the proverb insists, but it makes no allowance for the beggar’s riding skills or the horse’s compliance.

From Los Angeles Times

“If wishes were horses beggars would ride.”

From Literature

Scottish musician Kris Drever won folk singer of the year and also song of the year for If Wishes Were Horses, the title track of his third solo album.

From BBC