When pigs fly

"Flying pig" and "Flying pigs" redirect here. For the public house, see The Flying Pig. For the marathon, see Flying Pig Marathon. For the film, see Flying Pigs. For the sketch comedy group, see The Flying Pigs.
For other uses, see When Pigs Fly.
A weather vane in the shape of a flying pig

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. The phrase has been used in various forms since the 1600s as a sarcastic remark.[1]

  1. ^ "when pigs fly origin". Largest Idioms Dictionary. Theidioms.com. Retrieved 28 October 2018.