Question: I’m interested in the origin of the idiom:

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> If "ifs" and "buts" were candy and nuts, we'd all have a merry Christmas.
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When was it first used? Is this the original idiom, or was there an older version? Furthermore, how should its meaning be interpreted?

Answer: 
From [The Phrase Finder](http://www.phrases.org.uk/bulletin_board/49/messages/1111.html):

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> "If "ifs" and "buts" were candy and nuts, wouldn't it be a Merry Christmas?" seems to be attributed to Don Meredith (the American football player/ commentator). To rephrase it: if all these reasons why we can't do something were party foods instead of words, we could have a really great party.
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> It would seem to be patterned after "If wishes were horses, then beggars would ride" and "If I had a 'coin' for every 'something', I'd have 'a lot of money'" (insert your favorite coin, something and amount of money).
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It is used to express the fact that "if" and "but" are used too many times, so the speaker of this utterance disapproves of their use.