When Pigs Fly and Other Funny Idioms for the Impossible (2025)

FAQs

What is an idiom for something impossible? ›

Tasks that are difficult or impossible to perform

To have "a snowball's chance in Hell". "Like getting blood from a stone", and "like squeezing water from a stone". "Like finding a needle in a haystack"

"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.

said when you think that there is no chance at all of something happening: "I'll have finished it by tomorrow." "And pigs can fly!" Impossible and improbable.

As impossible as that a man should walk in procession at his own funeral. Impossible as to cut fire into steaks, or draw water with a fish-net. Impossible as a centaur or a griffin. Impossible as to get the whole music of the spheres into a sonata.

inconceivable, unthinkable, out of the question, unimaginable, unbelievable , impassable, preposterous , implausible, beyond the bounds of possibility, like finding a needle in a haystack (informal), not possible, improbable, unlikely , highly unlikely, very unlikely.

"Boil the ocean" is an idiomatic phrase that means to undertake an impossible task or project or to make a job or project unnecessarily difficult.

The original version of the 'pigs might fly' was 'pigs fly with their tails forward', which is first found in a list of proverbs in the 1616 edition of John Withals's English-Latin dictionary - A Shorte Dictionarie for Yonge Begynners: Pigs fly in the ayre with their tayles forward.

Between a Rock and a Hard Place. A Tough Nut to Crack. Walking on Thin Ice. In Hot Water.

Pig's can't fly! It's impossible, which is precisely what the expression means. We say it as a response when someone tells us something that we think is impossible or very unlikely. For example, if person A says “Do you think Mary will quit her job now that she's pregnant?” and person B responds “Yeah, when pigs fly!

Is when pigs fly an idiom or hyperbole? ›

This is one of my personal favorites and an idiom that I use on an almost daily basis. The idea that pigs might/may fly is a figure of speech in English called an adynaton. An adynaton is a form of hyperbole and suggests impossibility, which is exactly what this idiom refers to.

We use the idiom when pigs fly to show scepticism, cynicism, or doubt over a hypothetical situation or an impossible suggestion. Pigs cannot fly; and are never going to be able to fly. If you say something will happen when pigs fly it will probably never happen.

The flying pig symbolizes an openness to new ideas, possibilities, and avenues. These mythical creatures represent an upbeat “never say never” attitude—like when a latchkey kid like me grows up to create a life that's rich, full, and blessed.

A pig, a plump animal farmed for its meat, such as bacon. Depicted in light pink in full profile on all fours facing left, with a long snout and short, curly tail. May be used to represent the animal, its food products, or various metaphorical senses of pig.

absurd, futile, hopeless, impassable, impractical, inaccessible, inconceivable, insurmountable, preposterous, unattainable, unimaginable, unreasonable, unthinkable, unworkable, useless.

Between a Rock and a Hard Place. A Tough Nut to Crack. Walking on Thin Ice. In Hot Water.

Finding a needle in a haystack is an incredibly common idiom, but it is mostly used for impossible searches. Herding cats is likewise common, but largely reserved for getting a group of people to work together.