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Phrase(s): If ifs and ands were pots and pans (there’d be no work for tinkers’ hands).
Prov. Wishing for things is useless. (Often said in reply to someone who says something beginning with "If only. . . .") • Daughter: If only we didn’t have to move out of town, I’d be the happiest girl in the world. Grandmother: If ifs and ands were pots and pans, there’d be no work for tinkers’ hands.
McGrawhill's American Idioms And Phrasal Verbs