phrases, sayings, idioms and expressions at

Sweating like a pig!

Posted by The Horse Wrangler on May 15, 2000

In Reply to: Sweating like a pig! posted by The Horse Wrangler on May 15, 2000

: : : : Can anyone explain the above and where it derived from?

: : : Well it's like this. Horses sweat, Hens do not, Pigs sweat but neither Cows, Rabbits, Dogs, Cats or Frogs sweat. Snakes, Hares, Goats, Ducks, Sea Horses, Seals, Haddock, Limpets, Crabs, Sharks, Cockroaches, Ants and Elephants do not sweat. Now I can see a trend emerging: few animals, fish, amphibians, insects or crustaceans sweat but those who do, like the Horse and the Pig, boy do they sweat when the put their minds to it, especially the Horse. Given this is true, and I stand to be corrected on some minor detail, then when someone wanted to emphasis the volume of sweat he/she was producing in a hot environment they would oft times exclaim "I be sweating like a pig" or, if the sweating was even more severe, they would boast "Twas so dammed hot I sweated like a Horse. Other than this I have no answer.

: : Do pigs sweat? I don't think they do.

: Hang on, I'll call a farmer friend of mine

Well you're not entirely correct, but you're more correct that I am. Pigs, apparently, are pretty poor sweaters and in some breeds they hardly sweat at all. There's more, I also discovered that whilst hens don't sweat cows sweat better than pigs. However, the undoubted king of the sweaters it the Horse: were you foolish enough to ride one of these bare backed without serious leg protection the sweat would bring you out in a nasty rash where we humans don't like having rashes.

© 1997 – 2024 Phrases.org.uk. All rights reserved.