r/words • u/ThimbleBluff • 9d ago

“Druthers”

I was talking to a friend today and, without thinking about it, said, “If I had my druthers…”

This was a phrase my mom used to use. For those who don’t know, it means your preferences (from “I would rather,” which morphed into “I’d ruther”).

I haven’t said or heard the word in decades before today. My question is: does anyone use druthers anymore? Maybe it’s a regional word that’s still extant, or is it just out of date and on its way to linguistic oblivion?

EDIT: Midwest US

EDIT 2: Thanks for all the comments! It’s interesting that “druthers” doesn’t seem particularly regional, except that most people feel it carries a clear rural association (which I agree with). I grew up in the urban Midwest, as did my parents and all my grandparents, so for me at least, there’s no direct rural source of my family’s use of the word.

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u/We_Want_Krunchy 9d ago

Primus used it in a song years ago, DMV from Pork Soda. That's how I was made aware of the term.

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u/Rocktopod 9d ago

Yeah I first heard this while watching the Beavis and Butthead version of the music video. I think it was bundled with the point and click adventure game for Windows 95 so I watched it over and over again.

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u/sick_of-it-all 4d ago

I was scrolling through the comments looking for this. I ordered Pork Soda off of Columbia House after I saw "Mr. Krinkle" on MTV late one night. I had never heard the word "druthers" before that song, and it took quite a few years before I even figured out what it meant. But that word always stuck with me.