druther
English edit
Etymology edit
A corruption of I‘d rather or ‘d rather.
Noun edit
druther (plural druthers)
- (rare, chiefly in the plural) singular of druthers
- 2004, Sherry H. Penney, James D. Livingston, A Very Dangerous Woman: Martha Wright and Women's Rights:
- The teacher told Martha that she had invited a neighboring planter to send his children to her school, but "he said 'Me & my wife had no eddication, nor any of my gals, but I would rather they never would have any, than go to school with niggers.' So he had his druther!"48
See also edit
Verb edit
druther (no infinitive, tenses, or participles)
- (US, informal, often jocular) Would rather; would prefer to.
- I druther stay home today.
- We druther go swimming than go to school.
- 1884 December 10, Mark Twain [pseudonym; Samuel Langhorne Clemens], chapter XXXII, in The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn: (Tom Sawyer’s Comrade) […], London: Chatto & Windus, […], →OCLC:
- The old gentleman was for going along with me, but I said no, I could drive the horse myself, and I druther he wouldn't take no trouble about me.
- 1903 July, Jack London, “Into the Primitive”, in The Call of the Wild, New York, N.Y.: The Macmillan Company; London: Macmillan & Co., →OCLC, page 31:
- "He's no slouch at dog-breakin', that's wot I say," one of the men on the wall cried enthusiastically. / "Druther break cayuses any day, and twice on Sundays," was the reply of the driver, as he climbed on the wagon and started the horses.