A reply given to someone who wishes for something because a part of their life is unfair, basically stating that life is full of good and bad things. In essence, wishes
mean nothing.
This is the earliest version of the saying, with the reference to Germans eating
shit coming from
American soldiers in WWII.
You know what they say
Ted: Wish in one
hand, shit in the other, and see which
hand the German guy eats out of.