What each country says instead of ‘when pigs fly’

Instead of ‘when pigs fly’, Russians say ‘when a crayfish whistles on a mountain’, Germans say ‘on Saint Never’s Day’ and Albanians say ‘on the 36th of August’. This map shows what each country in Europe says instead.

Animals doing things they can’t

This is the most popular approach. The English, Irish, Portuguese, Swedes and Latvians are waiting for pigs. Finns are waiting for cows and Italians for donkeys. The French say when hens have teeth, the Spanish say when frogs grow hair, and Turks say when fish climb poplars. Estonians say when a hen pees.

Saints who don’t exist

Germans, Poles, Greeks and Belarusians are all waiting for Saint Never’s Day, which isn’t in any calendar. Slovenes have a version that works as a pun, because the word for never is nearly the name Nicholas. The Dutch say Saint Juttemis’s Day and the French also have Saint Glinglin, whose name is a nonsense rhyme.

Dates that don’t exist

Albanians have it in the diary for the 36th of August, and Italians also say the 31st of February. Danes say when there are two Thursdays in a week, Georgians say in a week with no Thursday, and Russians also say after a small rain on Thursday, so Thursdays seem to be involved more than you’d expect. The French and Italians also say on the Greek calends, a Latin joke about a date the Greek calendar never had. The Greeks went with Saint Never.

Most languages have several of these, so I’ve picked one each, and I’ve picked the funny one. Indonesia isn’t on the map, but it’s waiting for chickens to pay taxes.

If you like this sort of thing, see which foreigners each country named the cockroach after or a Southerner’s view of the UK and Ireland.

Sources: Wikipedia on idioms of improbability, Wiktionary.

See every country

Country	What they say
Albania	On the 36th of August
Austria	Saint Never's Day
Belarus	Saint Never's Day
Bosnia	When grapes grow on willows
Bulgaria	When the clogs bloom
Croatia	When grapes grow on willows
Czechia	When it rains and dries
Denmark	When there are two Thursdays in a week
Estonia	When a hen pees
Finland	When cows fly
France	When hens have teeth
Germany	Saint Never's Day
Greece	Saint Never's Day
Hungary	When red snow falls
Iceland	When Christmas falls on Easter
Indonesia	Waiting for chickens to pay taxes
Ireland	When pigs fly
Italy	When donkeys fly
Latvia	When pigs fly
Moldova	When the poplar grows pears
Montenegro	When grapes grow on willows
Netherlands	Saint Juttemis's Day
North Macedonia	In a cuckoo's summer
Norway	When Hell freezes over
Poland	Saint Never's Day
Portugal	When pigs fly
Romania	When the poplar grows pears
Russia	When a crayfish whistles on a mountain
Serbia	When grapes grow on willows
Slovenia	Saint Never's Day
Spain	When frogs grow hair
Sweden	When pigs fly
Turkey	When fish climb poplars
Ukraine	When a crayfish whistles on a mountain
United Kingdom	When pigs fly