Mitchell from Arlington, Texas, wonders about his father’s expression: If a bullfrog had wings, he wouldn’t bump his butt. It’s been around since at least the early 1900s, and is a variation on an older expression, If pigs had wings, they could fly. They’re about the fact that mere wishful thinking doesn’t make something so. Other versions include If wishes were horses, beggars would ride and If my aunt had wheels, she’d have been a bus. Still another: If my aunt had been a man, she’d have been my uncle. This is part of a complete episode.
Transcript of “If a Bullfrog Had Wings”
Hello, you have A Way with Words. Hi, Martha. My name is Mitchell Buck. I live in Arlington, Texas.
Hey, Mitchell. I had a question concerning a phrase my father used to use.
He was a naval aviator in the Second War, and he learned to fly in a little place called Avenger Field in Sweetwater, Texas. And when he went to flight school in Olathe, Kansas, to learn to fly the naval way.
He told me of an expression that one of his instructors used, and it’s a little odd.
He said, if a bullfrog had wings, he wouldn’t bump his butt.
The training aircraft that they had there in Olathe was an airplane called an AT-6 Texan, and it was referred to as a tail dragger.
Meaning that it had a rear wheel and it set up on the front two wheels.
He said that there were some cadets that, unfortunately, in trading accidents and whatnot, were killed.
And I just have no idea where the expression came from.
And I was just wondering if you guys had any ideas.
What was happening when he used the expression?
I guess it was more of an expression of if this happens, then it could lead to something else happening.
Okay.
That was sort of the way he used it.
And what’s the expression again?
If a bullfrog had wings, he wouldn’t bump his butt.
Yeah.
Okay.
I got that.
Martha, you know that one?
Well, he’s got a point there.
It’s true. It’s true. That’d be any one of us, right?
And so, Mitchell, it sounds like you believe that the expression has something to do with the tail-dragging aircraft.
That was sort of the, you know, sort of the impression I got.
I could see the expression feeling like it belonged there. It’s certainly colorful.
There’s a lot of variations on this. If a frog had wings, he wouldn’t bump his backside every time he jumps.
And, of course, backside is often replaced by various synonyms for backside, including all the crude ones.
The last part is often changed to they wouldn’t bump their tails on rocks or the ground or logs.
And we find this as early as 1914, although it’s probably older than that.
So what’s interesting is it’s a variation on another classic saying, which is about flying.
If pigs had wings, they could fly.
And that expression dates to the mid-1800s.
So there’s a lot of these expressions.
They’re all about wishful thinking.
It’s when you say, well, you know, I wish I didn’t have to work tomorrow.
Or I wish the summer wasn’t as hot.
And then somebody says to you, yeah, well, if bullfrogs had wings, they wouldn’t bump his butt.
Meaning you can’t change that.
And so it’s things like if wishes were horses, beggars would ride.
If my aunt had wheels, she’d been a bus, or if my aunt had been a man, she’d have been my uncle.
So there’s a bunch of these.
So the operative word here is if.
Yeah.
In all of those, right?
It’s all about you wishing for something that hasn’t happened and couldn’t happen.
So how about that?
It’s not exclusively aviation related.
This all makes a lot more sense now, other than just being a colorful expression.
Yeah.
Thank you so much for sharing your story with us.
Yeah, I really appreciate y’all clearing that up for me.
Take care, Rachel.
You too. Bye-bye.
