What is the meaning of the idiom pigs might fly?

Definition of pigs might fly —used as a response to something that seems unlikely to happen “This time I think he’ll ask me to marry him!” “Yeah, and pigs might fly.”

When pigs fly used in a sentence?

John asked Sarah whether she would go to the movies with him, Sarah replied that would happen when pigs fly. He plans to clean his house every week, but he will probably do it only when pigs fly. “Someday, I’ll become a successful actor.” “And pigs might fly.”

Who first said when pigs fly?

No one is certain exactly who developed the phrase “when pigs fly.” An old reference to pigs flying appears in Lewis Carroll’s Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland. However, scholars believe Carroll may have picked up the phrase from the Scottish, who allegedly had been using the phrase for a couple hundred years.

Where does the saying Pigs might fly come from?

The idiom is apparently derived from a centuries-old Scottish proverb, though some other references to pigs flying or pigs with wings are more famous. At least one appears in the works of Lewis Carroll: “Thinking again?” the Duchess asked, with another dig of her sharp little chin.

Is when pigs fly a metaphor?

An idiom is a metaphorical figure of speech, and it is understood that it is not a use of literal language. When pigs fly and pigs might fly are two idioms that describe something that is very unlikely to happen, something improbable, something that only a gullible person would believe.

Where does the phrase pigs might fly come from?

What is the origin of Pigs might fly?

The terms when pigs fly and pigs might fly have their roots in an expression found in John Withal’s A Shorte Dictionarie for Yonge Begynners, which was a Latin-English dictionary published in 1616: “Pigs fly in the ayre with their tayles forward.” The idea is that pigs are not only flying through the air, they are …

Where did the phrase when pigs fly originated?

There have been many mentions of flying pigs throughout history, and there’s some argument about the origin of the idiom “when pigs fly.” The most general consensus is that the term originated either in Germany or Scotland, as there are plenty of examples of its use as a way to describe something that is physically …

What is the literal and figurative meaning of when pigs fly?

Meaning. “When pigs fly” is used to describe figuratively something that most likely will never happen. “Mark plans to tidy up his room every week, but he will probably do it only when pigs fly” Which means that Mark will never clean his room.

When pigs fly definition and meaning?

“When pigs fly” is an adynaton, a way of saying that something will never happen. The phrase is often used for humorous effect, to scoff at over-ambition. There are numerous variations on the theme; when an individual with a reputation for failure finally succeeds, onlookers may sarcastically claim to see a flying pig.

A flying pig is a symbol of an impossible event coming to pass . The popular vernacular, saying something will happen “when pigs fly”, or “when pigs have wings” is traditionally used to mean that the specified event will never occur. Rises from the general belief that hell is an extremely hot place.

What does it mean when pigs fly?

The phrase “when pigs fly” (alternatively, “pigs might fly”) is an adynaton—a figure of speech so hyperbolic that it describes an impossibility. The implication of such a phrase is that the circumstances in question (the adynaton, and the circumstances to which the adynaton is being applied) will never occur.

What does if pigs could fly mean?

” Thatcher was once quoted as saying ‘Britain will have a woman Prime Minister if pigs could fly’.”. This phrase is found in varying forms: – If a pig (pigs) had wings, one could fly – If that happens, then pigs can fly – When pigs fly, that’s when, etc.