 | |
| Share / Tweet / Pin Me! | |
French Expression
| Meaning | when pigs fly | |
| Literally | when hens have teeth | |
| Register | normal | |
| Pronunciation | [ka(n) lay pool (z)o ro(n) day da(n)] | |
| IPA | [kã le pul (z)o rɔ̃ de dã] | |
| (optional liaison between poules and auront) | ||
Usage notes: The French expression quand les poules auront des dents is a colorful way of saying “not a chance!” or “it’ll never happen!” The equivalent English barnyard expression is “when pigs fly,” but there are other possible translations, including “when hell freezes over” and “never in a month of Sundays.”
Par exemple…
| Il m’a demandé s’il pouvait emprunter mon mobile, et j’ai répondu : « Oui, bien sûr … quand les poules auront des dents ! » | He asked if he could borrow my cellphone, and I responded, "Yes, of course… when pigs fly!" | |
| – Quand vas-tu venir avec nous à l’opéra ? – Quand les poules auront des dents ! |
– When are you going to come with us to the opera? – When hell freezes over! |
Syononymous, informal expressions
- à la Saint-Glinglin
- ce n’est pas demain la veille
This free website is created with love and a great deal of work.
That’s not really the same thing. “Rare as hen’s teeth” indicates something that is very difficult but not impossible to find, whereas quand les poules auront des dents means impossible.
Hi – In English there is also the expression “rare as hen’s teeth” …. Scott