What does "If wishes were fishes we'd all swim in riches" mean?

If wishes were fishes: used to express the impossibility to make a wish come true.

It appears to come from and to be a variant of:

It actually comes or was borrowed from the not so commonly used, original nursery rhyme from Scotland:

If wishes were horses then beggars would ride,

If turnips were swords I’d have one by my side.

If ‘ifs’ and ‘ands’ were pots and pans

There would be no need for tinker’s hands!

Source: (www.doctoroz.com)

This is (of course!) a Scottish saying: basically the point is wishes are useless. Or more simply: "Shut up and work harder." It's that simple.

(The second part of the phrase can be anything. "If wishes were fishes we wouldn't have to work" or simply "If wishes were fishes we'd all be rich." Or it might be specific to your situation ... "If wishes were fishes we wouldn't have to drive these damn trucks for a living!")

Anyone who grows up Scottish is frequently told, "I cried when I had no shoes until I saw a man who had no feet" and "If wishes were fishes..." and other gems such as "shut up and work harder".

It is an admonishment if you are lazy. It expresses the pointless futility of "wishing" for something. It's simply saying: "if silly wishes/prayers/dreams/hopes were real, we'd all be rich. So, shut up and start working."

Note that as spagirl points out there are any number of variations of the phrase, with no connection at all to fish. Example: "if wishes were horses then beggars would ride".

It means that there are a lot of fish about and it isn't hard to catch one. So if wishes were as common as fishes, everyone would have a considerable amount of wishes and would presumably be as rich as they liked.

\Alissa George – Blogger initiate I looked up "If wishes were fishes, then all dreams would come true,” and this is the second site I’ve landed on. I've heard this phrase from my mother who heard it from her father who was Scott's-Irish and I don't see her phrase here: I understood it to be: "God helps those who help themselves" and an admonishment say, to a child, to not just be wishing and languishing and day-dreaming, but to set specific goals to achieve those wishes & dreams. There was always the hope that those dreams would come true – as some do! Also, to not expect everything that you “wish for” arbitrarily to come true or everything you wish for to become a reality, on a whim. Start working toward SPECIFIC concrete goals and back them up with step by step action. There are a lot of fish in the sea and you have to set your sights on a few and go for those specific dreams, or fish as it were!