"When pigs fly" is an idiomatic way of saying that something will never happen.
* In German "Wenn Schweine fliegen können!" ... [or] "Wenn Schweine Flügel hätten, wäre alles möglich" (if pigs had wings, everything would be possible)...
* In Finnish... "sitten kun lehmät lentävät" (when cows fly)...
* In Spanish... "cuando las vacas vuelen" ("when cows fly"), ... "cuando las ranas crien pelo" (when frogs grow hair) and "cuando San Juan agache el dedo" (when Saint John bends his finger)...
* In French... "Quand les vaches auront des ailes" ("when cows have wings"), [and] "quand les poules auront des dents" ("when hens have teeth").
* In Portuguese... "quando a cobra fumar " ("when snakes smoke"). The sentence was used by Getúlio Vargas, Brazilian president during World War II, to reaffirm Brazil's neutrality in the conflict: "Snakes will smoke before Brazil enters the war". When Brazil eventually declared war on Nazi Germany... the Brazilian force called themselves Cobras Fumantes (literally, Smoking Snakes). ..
* In [Hindi] ... "Na no mann tail hu gaa naa radhaa naachay gee" that means that neither there will be 9 tons of oil nor Radhaa (a dancer) will dance...
Text from Wikipedia. photo credit WSJ.
