woulda, coulda, shoulda
（ canonical ）
（ canonical ）
（ canonical ）
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An expression of dismissiveness or disappointment concerning a statement, question, explanation, course of action, or occurrence involving hypothetical possibilities, uncertain facts, or missed opportunities.New York Times, May 15, 1994): The order of words in this delicious morsel of dialect varies with the user. . . . In this rhyming compound, a triple elision does the hat trick: although each elision expresses something different, when taken together, the trio conveys a unified meaning. Shoulda, short for should have (and not should of, which lexies call a variant but I call a mistake), carries a sense of correctness or obligation; coulda implies a possibility, and woulda denotes conditional certainty, an oxymoron: the stated intent to have taken an action if only something had not intervened. . . . Taken together, the term means 'Spare me the useless excuses.'
(This stems from expressing that someone could have, would have and/or should have done something)
woulda, coulda, shoulda
You woulda told me, you coulda helped, and you shoulda said something sooner, but instead you stayed silent and now it's too late.
You woulda told me, you coulda helped, and you shoulda said something sooner, but instead you stayed silent and now it's too late.
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