druth·ers

(drŭth′ərz)

pl.n. Informal

A choice or preference: "Given their druthers, these hell-for-leather free marketeers might sell the post office" (George F. Will).

[Alteration of the phrase 'd rather, from would rather.]

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

druthers

(ˈdrʌðəz)

pl n

informal jocular US wishes or preferences

Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

druth•ers

(ˈdrʌð ərz)

n. Informal.

one's own way, choice, or preference: If I had my druthers, I'd dance all night.

[1870–75; pl. of druther, (I, you, etc.) 'd rather (contraction of would rather)]

ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:

Noun

druthers - the right or chance to choose; "given my druthers, I'd eat cake"

preference

alternative, option, choice - one of a number of things from which only one can be chosen; "what option did I have?"; "there no other alternative"; "my only choice is to refuse"

wish - the particular preference that you have; "it was his last wish"; "they should respect the wishes of the people"

Translations

druthers

[ˈdrʌðəz] N (US) if I had my druthers → si por mí fuera

Collins Spanish Dictionary - Complete and Unabridged 8th Edition 2005 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1971, 1988 © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005

Mentioned in

References in classic literature

"There ain't any druthers ABOUT it, Huck Finn; nobody said anything about druthers.

Any way you druther have it, that is the way I druther have it.

View in context

We make many job-related decisions at odds with our druthers. We may fantasize about telling off irritating colleagues or wearing our cozy unicorn onesie to work -- but in the end, most of us refrain after thinking about what that might cost us in reputation and opportunities.

Is the work holiday party required?

If Rusty Healy had his druthers, hed be playing his dream gig as lead guitarist for 1980s indie rock band REM.

It's not REM, but Rusty Healy Agency is working out just fine

"If this segment of the population had its druthers," Weissman Joselit writes, "there would be even more of them."

Though controversial, Ten Commandments exhibit staying power

Other druthers include fewer red herrings, and more room for Humphries' character to bloom and deepen.

Larger and larger ripples of topical and raging relevance

Then I read John Lachuk say, "If I had my druthers, I'd take this handy lever-gun and my .44 Maggie and head for the backcountry!

PAST MASTERS OF THE DOUBLE-ACTION SIXGUN PART VII: BILL JORDAN & JOHN LACHUK

Crime is simply not as pervasive as people think; weapons are harder to get and properly use in response to crime than people think, and the government is neither nearing tyranny and totalitarianism (although I sometimes think it would be if this administration had its druthers) nor plotting confiscations.

Blood Pact With The NRA

"I don't know that most presidents, if given their druthers, would choose to live in an even more obvious fishbowl than that in which their position already puts them."

Inside look: Presidents' Residences: Making these offidal houses a campus centerpiece

If given their druthers, I think they would just as soon the government get out of the health-care business altogether.

The worst person in Arkansas?

ISLAMABAD -- Promotion of research culture in the educational institutions is vital as it can open avenues of druthers for turning dross into gold, said participants of a two-day workshop on understanding the world in qualitative way held at Faisal Masjid campus of International Islamic University, Islamabad (IIUI).

IIUI takes step to understand world in qualitative way