# What does ‘when pigs fly’ mean?

To “when pigs fly” means to never; something that will not happen. The 'flying pig' image as impossibility is proverbial in English; Brewer's does not fix a single origin.

## What it means

- The 'flying pig' image as impossibility is proverbial in English; Brewer's does not fix a single origin.

## Action steps

1. A sarcastic dismissal.
2. Example: He'll apologize when pigs fly.

## Sources

- [Brewer's Dictionary of Phrase and Fable (1898) — Internet Archive scan](https://archive.org/details/brewers-dictionary-of-phrase-and-fable)

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