What is 願ったりだと?


The protagonist of the story is a taxi driver who picks up a girl. She asks
him to bring her to Isezaki and then the author writes:

> それは **願ったりだと** 乗せて夜の道を走った。

What kind of form is the one in bold?




願ったり is a part of the set phrase
[願ったり叶ったり](http://jisho.org/search/%E9%A1%98%E3%81%A3%E3%81%9F%E3%82%8A%E5%8F%B6%E3%81%A3%E3%81%9F%E3%82%8A).
Sometimes the latter half of this set phrase is omitted, and that doesn't
change the meaning. The following だ is a copula, and と is [a quotative
particle which is not followed by a
verb](https://japanese.stackexchange.com/q/45089/5010).

> 「それは願ったり(叶ったり)だ」と(思って)、(彼女を)乗せて夜の道を走った。  
>  Thinking "that's exactly what I hoped", he picked her up and ran down the
> road at night.

The driver thought he was lucky maybe because he wanted to go to Isezaki
anyway even without a customer.

These たり in 願ったり叶ったり are explained
[here](http://www.punipunijapan.com/japanese-grammar-tari-tari/). I think the
phrase literally means "things like wishing and coming true." Well, since it's
a set phrase it may be better to memorize it without thinking too much. There
are a few set phrases that look similar:
[似たり寄ったり](http://jisho.org/search/%E4%BC%BC%E3%81%9F%E3%82%8A%E5%AF%84%E3%81%A3%E3%81%9F%E3%82%8A)
/
[踏んだり蹴ったり](http://jisho.org/search/%E8%B8%8F%E3%82%93%E3%81%A0%E3%82%8A%E8%B9%B4%E3%81%A3%E3%81%9F%E3%82%8A).




This 願ったり is a shortened form of the expression 願ったり叶ったり, which may translate,
rather literally, to "You wished for it, and it has come true for you." The たり
here is an auxiliary indicating a completed action.

The だ is the copula, and the と is the quotative particle.

The usage of 願ったり叶ったり is pretty much consistent with it's literal meaning; You
may say this when your wishes, expressed or unexpressed, come true:"That's
exactly what I wished/hoped for!" But, in a slight departure from the
original, it can also be used when things are in accordance with your
wishes/preferences without a prior act of actual wishing (whether expressedly
or internally). You can say「願ったり(叶ったり)だ。」when situations, conditions, offers,
etc. simply suit you very well.

In context, the 願ったりだ may signify a) that the specific situation, or some
aspects of it, is what the driver has been wishing for, or b) that he's just a
taxi driver who is happy to have found a customer.

Possible translations:

> a) Thinking, "That's what I've been wishing for!" he picked her up and drove
> through the night.
>
> b) Thinking, "That's exactly what I want to do!/Suits me very well!" he
> picked her up and drove through the night.

