woulda, coulda, shoulda

Derisively mimics the frequent perfect conditional forms (I would have done this and that) which are used when discussing events that may have occurred in the past.

• "But there a lot of talented people right down there on the street, singing their shoulda-coulda-wouldas, now is that how you wanna end up?"
• "And, Dr. Lovett, would I be correct in saying that your basic complaint is, if you will allow me to characterize it as a "woulda, coulda, shoulda" in terms of lost opportunities and it isn't a good deal and we are not smart doing it, but that you do not take a fundamental position that the U.S. sov- ereignty is cashed in under this agreement?"
• "All the woulda-coulda-shouldas layin' in the sun, Talkin' 'bout the things they woulda-coulda-shoulda done... But those woulda-coulda-shouldas all ran away and hid, From one little did."
• "Woulda, coulda, shouldas can imprison a new mother and rob her of all joy and pride at becoming a mother."
• "Gopnik defines counterfactuals as "the woulda-coulda-shouldas of life, all the things that might happen in the future, but haven't yet, or that could have happened in the past, but didn't quite.""

• the road to hell is paved with good intentions
• too little, too late