When Pigs Fly
I’m writing a story at the moment that features a pig. A big, muddy, bristly pig. And it’s led me on all sorts of interesting Wikipedia spiral adventures. Did you know that Wall Street in Manhattan is named for a wall built along it to stop pigs from getting into grain fields? And that the phrase “sweating like a pig” is totally inaccurate, because pigs don’t sweat? (that’s why they cover themselves in mud, to cool down)
But here’s my favourite thing. An adynaton is a hyperbolic saying to suggest that something’s impossible: When pigs fly. But in other countries they say other things!
- Italian: When donkeys fly
- French: When cows have wings or When hens grow teeth
- Spanish: When frogs grow hair
- Latvian: When the owl’s tail blossoms
- Malay: When cats grow horns
- Malayalam: If the crow flies upside down
- Bulgarian: When shoes bloom
- Chinese: When the rain is red
- Russian: When the crawfish whistles on the mountain
- Turkish: When fish climb trees
- Brazil: When snakes smoke
- Portugese: On St Never’s Day in the afternoon
I am totally adopting St Never’s Day in the Afternoon.
My children will hate me.
Also it is weird and wrong that I looked at St Never and thought, hmm. Never is not a bad name for a boy.
Hilarious list!
And here I was thinking that that saying was used everywhere.
Goes to show how important research is!
What a wonderful list of sayings. Such things that can be discovered when researching for writing! I also love “St. Never’s day in the afternoon.” Especially that it’s in the afternoon, because of course that’s even less likely!
Nice blog, Lili. Love the look. So very pink. Is it new?
Thanks, Kelly! It’s pretty new. Last few months.
A friend told me about a French guy he worked with who was rather paranoid. On one occasion, when meaning to say “They won’t get the better of me,” he somehow translated that in his head to: “They won’t stand on my nose, don’t dream.” Huh?