Stop wearing your wishbone where your backbone ought to be.

The line is a sharp metaphor contrasting passive hoping (“wishbone”) with resolve and moral courage (“backbone”). It urges the listener to stop substituting desire, fantasy, or complaint for decisive action—especially when facing a hard choice or a situation that requires boundaries. The phrasing implies that wishing can become a kind of self-deception: it feels like progress while avoiding risk, responsibility, or confrontation. As a piece of advice, it functions like a proverb—memorable, slightly admonishing, and designed to jolt someone into agency. Its enduring appeal lies in how quickly it names a common habit: wanting change without adopting the posture (and spine) needed to make it happen.