And pigs will fly!

Posted by Henry on December 10, 2004

In Reply to: Waiting for Godot posted by ESC on December 09, 2004

: : : : : : : In Portuguese there is a current expression in these terms: "Deixe os patos passar". It means word by word: Let the ducks go by or pass along.

: : : : : : : This is an ironical expression, whereby someone suggests that something will happen but certainly in a time that will never really come. The origin is probably from a fable in which a king promises to release a young man from death if he is able to tell him a never-ending story. And the astute young man tells a tale of ducks passing along in a stream. One duck follows the other, and the ducks never stop coming. So the story never reaches the end. Waiting for all the ducks to pass means waiting for ever.

: : : : : : : Any equivalent in English?

: : : : : : : Jose Carlos

: : : : : : Til the cows come home?

: : : : : I'm not sure how the expression "'til the cows come home," but I can assure you that they do come home, and every day unless there's some impediment. (The cow in question may be ill, or may be fresh, or may be lost, or may be locked out by some obstacle. If you don't know what a fresh cow is, apply here for information.) SS

: : : : Excuse, please, lege "how the expression . . . is used." SS

: : : "When hell freezes over" and "when pigs fly" are common phrases used emphatically (and only in informal contexts) to mean "That will never happen!"

: : Waiting for Godot. Based on the Samuel Beckett play by the same name. See SparkNotes at www.sparknotes.com/ lit/godot/

: WAITING FOR GODOT - "To wait endlessly, and in futility, for something to happen." Refers to a Samuel Beckett play (1952, translated in English, 1954*). "Two tramps meet in a bare, unidentifiable place. They are waiting for Godot, who sends word that he is coming, but does not.they agree to leave and meet the next day. But stand still. There is no sense of progress, nor any understanding of who Godot is, or why anyone would one to wait for him." Example: "These days, waiting for someone to reignite that rock-and-roll explosion - as Elvis did in 1954, as the Beatles did in 1963 - has become something like waiting for Godot." Don McLeese, New York Times Book Review, Dec. 28, 1986. "Merriam-Webster's Dictionary of Allusions" by Elizabeth Webber and Mike Feinsilber (Merriam-Webster, Springfield, Mass., 1999). * Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia, says Beckett, who was Irish, wrote the play in French, his second language.

Til the cows come home; Meaning a long and indefinite time.
This phrase was paraphrased by Groucho Marx in Duck Soup. 'I could dance with you til the cows come home. Better still, I'll dance with the cows and you come home.' From IdiomSite
'Pigs will fly' is used in a different situation. It's not 'til pigs fly' but usually 'and pigs will fly'. It's often a riposte to some over-ambitious targets set by corporate mangement.
'All orders will be completed by Tuesday.'
'And pigs will fly!'

Back to cows coming home Keith Rennie 10/December/04
- Back to cows coming home Brian from Shawnee 10/December/04
  - - and alpine cows have homecoming too keith rennie 10/December/04
    - - and alpine cows have homecoming too Jose Carlos 10/December/04
      - When pigs fly R. Berg 10/December/04
        
        When the cows come home Smokey Stover 10/December/04
        
        When the cows come home ESC 10/December/04
        
        When the cows come home Smokey Stover 11/December/04
        
        Party 'til the cows come home... ESC 11/December/04