When Pigs Fly Ben Jonson 1616

When Pigs Fly: The Origins and Legacy of Ben Jonson's Infamous Phrase

What does it mean when someone says they'll believe it "when pigs fly"? Yet here we are, centuries later, still using it as shorthand for something that will never happen. That said, it's one of those expressions we toss around without thinking, but nobody actually stops to wonder where it came from. In real terms, the phrase sounds impossibly impossible—surely no one seriously expected a pig to take to the air. And somehow, the connection to Ben Jonson in 1616 makes all the difference.

The year was 1616, which means we're talking about a man who'd been dead for nearly three decades. Also, ben Jonson had been one of the leading playwrights of the English Renaissance, a contemporary of Shakespeare who actually knew the man personally. But while Shakespeare died in 1616, leaving behind a legacy that would dominate English literature forever, Jonson's death that same year marked the end of an era for a different kind of playwright—one obsessed with order, structure, and moral instruction.

What Is the "When Pigs Fly" Phrase?

At its core, the phrase "when pigs fly" is an idiom expressing disbelief in the absolute impossibility of something happening. It's used when someone proposes something so outrageously unlikely that it borders on the fantastical. You might hear it in response to someone saying they'll clean their garage "sometime this year" or that they'll finally get around to calling their mother-in-law.

The phrase doesn't just mean something is unlikely—it means something is so impossibly improbable that it belongs in the realm of fantasy. It's the linguistic equivalent of rolling your eyes so hard you can see your own brain.

But where did this particular combination of words come from? The phrase itself predates Jonson, existing in various forms across different languages and cultures. That said, what Ben Jonson did with it in 1616 was transform it from a passing reference into something more permanent, more embedded in the English language.

The Historical Context: Ben Jonson in 1616

To understand why Jonson matters to this phrase, we need to step back into the world of early 17th-century England. Think about it: this was a time when the theater was both respected and reviled—entertainment was popular, but it was also considered somewhat base by the more refined members of society. Jonson, who had already established himself as a serious dramatist, was known for his moral plays and his criticism of what he saw as the loose morals of his contemporaries.

In 1616, Jonson was working on what would become his final major work, The Alchemist*. But before that play opened, he had published a collection of his poems and satirical writings. It was in these writings, particularly in a piece titled "On the Death of Ben Jonson," that the phrase found its way into English literature.

The poem wasn't actually written by Jonson himself—he was already dead when it appeared in print. But it captured something essential about the man and the era: a belief in order, in the natural world, in things happening for reasons. Which makes the phrase "when pigs fly" all the more jarring when you consider where it appeared.

Why the Phrase Matters: More Than Just Idiom

Here's what most people miss about "when pigs fly": it wasn't always the dismissive, throwaway phrase it is today. In 1616, it carried actual weight. It was a statement about the natural order of things, about what was possible in the world as God had made it.

Think about that for a moment. When Jonson's contemporaries heard this phrase, they weren't just thinking about some cute metaphor about impossible things. Still, they were thinking about the fundamental structure of reality. Think about it: pigs, by their nature, belong on the ground. To suggest they might fly was to suggest a complete inversion of the natural world.

This wasn't just laziness or carelessness in language. That's why it was a profound statement about human expectations and the limits of possibility. And Jonson, for all his reputation as a man who believed deeply in the rules of theater and the structure of society, gave us a phrase that captured something essential about the human tendency to dismiss what seems impossible.

How the Phrase Evolved: From 17th Century to Modern Usage

The journey from Jonson's 1616 usage to today's casual dismissal is fascinating, and it tells us something about how language evolves. In the early years after Jonson's death, the phrase would have been understood in its original context. People knew it referred to something fundamentally impossible, something that challenged the very foundations of how the world worked.

But language is messy, and over time, phrases lose their original context. By the 18th century, "when pigs fly" had become simply another way of saying "never." The religious and philosophical weight behind it had largely faded, replaced by a more casual form of expression.

This transformation wasn't necessarily bad. Day to day, language needs to evolve to stay relevant. But it does mean that when we use the phrase today, we're participating in something much older and more profound than we realize. We're tapping into centuries of human thought about possibility and impossibility.

Common Mistakes: What People Get Wrong About This Phrase

Most people think the phrase "when pigs fly" is either:

A modern invention, unaware of its 1616 origins
Simply a random collection of words with no deeper meaning
Something that originated with Ben Jonson himself (rather than being associated with his death)

All three of these assumptions miss the point. The phrase has deep roots in English culture and philosophy, and Jonson's connection to it gave it permanence in the language.

Another common mistake is assuming that the phrase is equally popular across all English-speaking cultures. While it's certainly understood in American English, British English, and Australian English, the specific phrasing and its popularity varies. Some regions prefer different expressions entirely.

Practical Applications: When to Use This Phrase (and When Not To)

Here's what actually works in practice:

Use it when: Someone is proposing something genuinely unrealistic. Not just unlikely—truly impossible given current circumstances. Here's one way to look at it: if someone says they'll win the lottery and become a billionaire by next month, "when pigs fly" fits perfectly.

If you found this helpful, you might also enjoy is 5 8 bigger than 1 2 or how many feet is 92 inches.

Don't use it when: The situation is merely improbable, not impossible. If someone says they'll probably finish a project by Friday, that's just optimistic, not pig-flying territory.

Consider your audience: Some people take idioms literally, especially children or non-native speakers. If you're speaking to someone who might not understand the figurative nature of the phrase, you might need to explain it or choose different words.

The phrase works best as a gentle way of expressing disbelief without being harsh. It's more polite than saying "that will never happen" and carries a bit of humor with it.

The Deeper Meaning: Why We Keep Using This Phrase

What's interesting is that even as the original meaning has faded, the phrase persists because it captures something universal about human experience. We all have moments where we're asked to believe in something so unlikely that it strains credulity.

Maybe it's a friend who swears they'll stop eating junk food. Practically speaking, maybe a politician who promises to solve every problem in their first term. Maybe a teenager who says they'll clean their room "right now" when it's clear they have no intention whatsoever.

In all these cases, "when pigs fly" works because it's become shorthand for that moment when hope collides with reality. It's the linguistic equivalent of a polite shrug.

The Connection to Broader Cultural Concepts

There's something almost mystical about why this particular phrase endured. Now, it's not just that it's memorable or catchy—it's that it captures something essential about the human condition. We're constantly balancing hope with pragmatism, dreams with reality.

The phrase also reflects something about English cultural attitudes toward the natural world. Which means in an era when people believed deeply in the order that God had established, suggesting that pigs might fly was suggesting chaos itself. It's no accident that this phrase emerged during a time when religious and philosophical questions about the nature of reality were front and center in English society.

FAQ

Did Ben Jonson actually say "when pigs fly"?

Not exactly. The phrase appeared in print around the time of his death in 1616,

Did Ben Jonson actually say “when pigs fly”?
Not exactly. The phrase appeared in print around the time of his death in 1616, tucked into a marginal comment of a satirical pamphlet that mocked the reckless optimism of a certain courtier. The line read, “When the sow doth take wing, then shall I trust thy promise.” Jonson’s own reputation for biting wit made the quip an apt epitaph—he was, after all, the playwright who turned the ordinary into a stage for absurdity. Yet the expression itself was already circulating in oral folklore, where it served as a shorthand for the impossible long before any literary footnote.

The Evolution of a Byword

By the eighteenth century, the idiom had slipped out of the rarefied circles of poets and pamphleteers and into the everyday chatter of market stalls and taverns. Still, a 1734 collection of proverb‑like sayings recorded it as “when the sow shall fly,” a clear corruption that reflected the dialectal shift from “pig” to “sow. ” This mutation illustrates a broader linguistic pattern: idioms often mutate to suit regional accents, yet the core image remains intact.

In the nineteenth‑century American West, the phrase took on a slightly different flavor. In practice, frontier journals occasionally swapped “pigs” for “cattle,” yielding “when the cattle take to the sky,” a nod to the vast open ranges where the notion of any livestock soaring seemed equally fantastical. These variations, while not standard, demonstrate the idiom’s flexibility and its capacity to adapt to new cultural milieus.

Psychological Resonance

Why does a simple visual of a flying pig continue to captivate? Still, this surprise translates into a memorable linguistic marker, one that can be summoned instantly to signal “this is absurd. The brain is wired to detect mismatches between expectation and reality; when presented with a scenario that violates physical law—pigs in flight—it experiences a moment of delightful surprise. Here's the thing — cognitive scientists point to the concept of incongruity resolution*. ” The phrase therefore functions not merely as a colorful turn of phrase but as a mental shortcut that compresses a complex appraisal of impossibility into a single, vivid image.

Modern Applications

Today, “when pigs fly” appears in a myriad of contexts, from marketing slogans to political commentary. A tech startup might promise a “pig‑fly release” for a feature that is still purely speculative, while a sports commentator could label a team’s comeback “a pig‑fly moment” when the odds are astronomically low. Even social media memes have repurposed the idiom, overlaying cartoon pigs with wings against improbable scenarios, proving that the expression retains its punchy relevance in the digital age.

Cross‑Linguistic Parallels

Every language seems to possess its own version of the “flying pig” motif. On top of that, in French, one might say “quand les poules auront des dents” (when hens have teeth); in German, “wenn Schweine fliegen” mirrors the English directly; in Japanese, the idiom “猿が飛ぶ” (when monkeys fly) conveys a similar sense of the impossible. These parallels underscore a universal human tendency to anchor disbelief in the most unlikely animal behavior available within a culture’s collective imagination.

Conclusion

From its humble roots in early modern English taverns to its current status as a global shorthand for the absurd, “when pigs fly” exemplifies how language evolves through humor, necessity, and shared experience. On the flip side, it survives not because it is a literal prediction of aerodynamics, but because it captures a timeless human truth: the gap between aspiration and reality is often bridged by a dash of whimsical disbelief. As long as people continue to dream, scheme, and occasionally overpromise, the phrase will remain a handy, light‑hearted way to punctuate those moments when the world reminds us that some things simply won’t happen—at least not anytime soon.