Adynaton

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Adynaton (plural adynata) is a figure of speech in the form of hyperbole taken to such extreme lengths as to suggest a complete impossibility:

• I will sooner have a beard grow in the palm of my hand than he shall get one of his cheek.^[1]

The word derives from the Greek ἀδύνατον (adunaton), neuter of ἀδύνατος (adunatos), "unable, impossible" (a-, "without" + dynasthai, "to be powerful").^[2]

Classical and Medieval usage

Adynaton was a widespread literary and rhetorical device during the Classical Period and was known in Latin as impossibilia. A frequent usage was to refer to one highly unlikely event occurring sooner than another:

One can expect an agreement between philosophers sooner than between clocks. Seneca, "The Pumpkinification of Claudius".

However it largely fell into disuse during the Middle Ages before undergoing a minor revival in the works of romantic poets, who would boast of the power of their love, and how it could never end.

Together, we shall sooner see, I, & you, The Rhône tarry, & reverse its course, The Saône roil, & return to source, Than this my fire ever die down Maurice Scève

Fiction, folklore and drama

Adynata are sometimes used within works of fiction or drama:

Part heat from fire, then, by that notion,

Part frost from snow, wet from the ocean!

Ask less!      Henrik Ibsen, Brand

Impossible tasks appears often in legends and folklore, such as the tale of "The Spinning-Woman by the Spring", and can form elements of ballads, riddles and proverbs.

Modern usage

This unreferenced section requires citations to ensure verifiability.

Some modern adynata include:

• In English, "When pigs fly!", and "Not before Hell freezes over!"
• In Filipino (Tagalog) the expression is "pag puti na ang uwak" ("when crows are white").
• In German the expression "Wenn Schweine fliegen könnten" is identical with the English version. - "Wenn Ostern und Weihnachten zusammenfallen" means "When Christmas and Easter coincide"
• In Italian, the expression is "Quando gli asini voleranno" ("when donkeys fly").
• In French, the expression is "quand les poules auront des dents" ("when hens grow teeth").
• In Spanish, the expression is "cuando las vacas vuelen" ("when cows fly"). Other less common variations include "cuando las ranas críen pelo" ("when frogs grow hair") and "cuando Colon baje el dedo" ("when Christopher Columbus bends his finger"). The latter is a reference to the iconic depictions of Christopher Columbus with one extended finger.
• In Finnish, the expression is "sitten kun lehmät lentävät" ("when cows fly"), or "jos lehmällä olisi siivet, se lentäisi" ("if a cow had wings, it would fly").
• In Latvian, expressions include "Kad pūcei aste ziedēs" ("when the owl's tail blossoms") and "Kad akmens negrims" ("when rocks don't sink").
• in Dutch, the expression is "Als Pasen en Pinksteren op één dag vallen" ("when Easter and Pentecost are the same day").
• In Malay, the expression is "Tunggu kucing bertanduk" ("when cats grow horns").
• In Malayalam, the expression is "Veluttha Kaakka Malarnnu Parannaal" ("if the white crow flies upside down").
• In Sanskrit, the expression is "अम्बुनि मज्जन्त्यलाबूनि" (ambuni majjantyalābūni) short for "अम्बुनि मज्जन्त्यलाबूनि ग्रावाणः प्लवन्ते" (ambuni majjantyalābūni grāvāṇaḥ plavante) which means, ("[when] in water, cucumber drowns and stones float"). It occurs as early as in Mahabharata (महाभारत), in Sabhaa Parva (सभा पर्व), chapter 66, verse 11 as मज्जन्त्यलाबूनि शिलाः प्लवन्ते.
• In some countries in the Persian Gulf, the Arabic expression "إذا حجت البقرة على قرونها" means "when the cow goes on pilgrimage on its horns". In Egypt, they say "في المشمش", meaning "when apricots bloom". Other Arab people, especially Palestinians, use the expression "لما ينور الملح", which roughly translates into "when salt blossoms".
• In Bulgarian, the expressions are "когато цъфнат налъмите" (kogato tsâfnat nalâmite) -- "when the clogs blossom", and "когато върбата роди круши" (kogato vârbata rodi krushi) -- "when pears grow on a willow tree").
• In Chinese, the expression is "除非天下紅雨" (Chúfēi tiān xià hóng yǔ) - "when the rain is red", or "除非太陽打西邊出來" (Chúfēi tàiyang dǎ xībiān chūlai) - "when the sun rises in the west".
• In Persian, the expression is "وقت گل نی" ("when reeds blossom").
• In Russian, the expression is "когда рак на горе свистнет" (kogdá rak na goré svístnet) - "when the crawfish whistles on the mountain".
• In Serbian or Croatian, the expression is "kad na vrbi rodi grožđe" ("when grapes grow on a willow").
• In Turkish, the expression is "balık kavağa çıkınca" ("when fish climb poplar trees").
• In Ukrainian, the expression is "коли риба заговоре" (koly ryba zagovoré) - "when fish speak".
• In Portuguese, the expression is "quando as galinhas tiverem dentes" ("when chickens grow teeth"). Another expression used in Portugal is "No dia de S. Nunca à tarde" ("On St. Never's Day in the afternoon"), meaning that the event being discussed will never happen. A variation of this is "Na semana dos nove dias" ("on the week with nine days").
• In Brazil, a common expression is “Dia 31 de Fevereiro”, meaning "(it will happen) on February 31st", a date that does not exist.
• In Macedonian, the expression is "кога ќе прдне квачката" (koga ke prdne kvatchkata) - "when the chicken farts".
• Also in Brazil, a common expression was "quando a cobra fumar " ("when snakes smoke"). The phrase 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 and a contingent of about 25000 Brazilians were sent to join Allied forces in the invasion of Italy, the Brazilian force called themselves Cobras Fumantes (literally, Smoking Snakes). They adopted as their symbol a snake smoking a pipe. Since then, the expression has reversed meaning in Brazil, as "a cobra vai fumar!" ("snakes will smoke!") now implies that something is about to happen in a furious and destructive way
• in Swedish, the expression is "två torsdagar i veckan" ("two Thursdays in the same week"). It is also said as "two Sundays in the same week", but other weekdays are rarely used.
• in Spanish, the expression is "Un Domingo entre semana" or "A Sunday midweek".
• in Hungarian, the expression is "majd ha piros hó esik" ("when it's snowing red")

See also

• 'Pataphysics

References

References and further reading

• Dictionary of poetic terms Myers, J., Wukasch, D.
• Some Notes on the Adynaton in Medieval Literature
• Ronald Grambo, Adynaton Symbols in Proverbs. A Few Fragmentary Remarks (s. 40-42). Proverbium 15. Helsinki 1970.
• Martti Haavio, Omöjlighetssymboler i finsk epik (s. 73-83). Sed och Sägen 1956.
• Henrik Ibsens Skrifter Brand. Peer Gynt. Universitetet i Oslo. H. Aschehoug & Co. (William Nygaard). Oslo 2007. ISBN 82-03-19002-2.