Adynaton (; plural adynata) is a

figure of speech A figure of speech or rhetorical figure is a word or phrase that intentionally deviates from straightforward language use or Denotation, literal meaning to produce a rhetorical or intensified effect (emotionally, aesthetically, intellectually, et ...

in the form of

hyperbole Hyperbole (; adj. hyperbolic ) is the use of exaggeration as a rhetorical device or figure of speech. In rhetoric, it is also sometimes known as auxesis (literally 'growth'). In poetry and oratory, it emphasizes, evokes strong feelings, and cre ...

taken to such extreme lengths as to insinuate a complete impossibility:

I will sooner have a beard grow in the palm of my hand than he shall get one on his cheek.

The word derives from the

Greek Greek may refer to: Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor of all kno ...

ἀδύνατον (''adunaton''), neuter of ἀδύνατος (''adunatos''), "unable, impossible" (''a-'', "without" + ''dynasthai'', "to be possible or powerful").

Classical and medieval usage

Adynaton was a widespread literary and

rhetoric Rhetoric is the art of persuasion. It is one of the three ancient arts of discourse ( trivium) along with grammar and logic/ dialectic. As an academic discipline within the humanities, rhetoric aims to study the techniques that speakers or w ...

al device during the Classical Period. In the Eclogue of

Plutarch Plutarch (; , ''Ploútarchos'', ; – 120s) was a Greek Middle Platonist philosopher, historian, biographer, essayist, and priest at the Temple of Apollo (Delphi), Temple of Apollo in Delphi. He is known primarily for his ''Parallel Lives'', ...

, there is a long list of

proverb A proverb (from ) or an adage is a simple, traditional saying that expresses a perceived truth based on common sense or experience. Proverbs are often metaphorical and are an example of formulaic speech, formulaic language. A proverbial phrase ...

s and the first section is titled ΠΕΡΙ ΤΩΝ ΑΔΥΝΑΤΩΝ, consisting of proverbs that are built on adynaton. The adynaton form was often used for vows and covenants, such as in the 16th Epode of Horace, 25-34. Its plural form (''adynata'') was translated in

Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...

as ''impossibilia''. A frequent usage was to refer to one highly unlikely event occurring ''sooner'' than another: Zenobius's collection of proverbial expressions includes "to count sand" to characterize something impossible or unattainable. However, it largely fell into disuse during the

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire and ...

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.

Fiction, folklore and drama

Adynata are sometimes used within works of fiction or drama: Impossible tasks appear often in

legend A legend is a genre of folklore that consists of a narrative featuring human actions, believed or perceived to have taken place in human history. Narratives in this genre may demonstrate human values, and possess certain qualities that give the ...

s and

folklore Folklore is the body of expressive culture shared by a particular group of people, culture or subculture. This includes oral traditions such as Narrative, tales, myths, legends, proverbs, Poetry, poems, jokes, and other oral traditions. This also ...

, and can form elements of

ballad A ballad is a form of verse, often a narrative set to music. Ballads were particularly characteristic of the popular poetry and song of Great Britain and Ireland from the Late Middle Ages until the 19th century. They were widely used across Eur ...

riddle A riddle is a :wikt:statement, statement, question, or phrase having a double or veiled meaning, put forth as a puzzle to be solved. Riddles are of two types: ''enigmas'', which are problems generally expressed in metaphorical or Allegory, alleg ...

s and

s. Examples include: the tale of " The Spinning-Woman by the Spring",

Modern usage

Some modern adynata include: * In modern

: “The fly ate iron” * In Uyghur of China, “To avoid hurting my friend’s feelings, I got pregnant (said by a male).” * In Bulgarian: ''когато цъфнат налъмите'' (''kogato tsâfnat nalâmite'', "when the

clogs Clogs are a type of footwear that has a thick, rigid sole typically made of wood, although in American English, shoes with rigid soles made of other materials are also called clogs. Traditional clogs remain in use as protective footwear in a ...

blossom") and ''когато върбата роди круши'' (''kogato vârbata rodi krushi'', "when pears grow on a willow tree"). koga se pokači svinja s z´´lti čehli na krusa (when the pig in yellow slippers climbs the pear tree) * in Dutch: ''Als Pasen en Pinksteren op één dag vallen'' ("when Easter and Pentecost are the same day"); from a poem by

Gerrit Komrij Gerrit Jan Komrij (30 March 1944 – 5 July 2012) was a Dutch poet, novelist, translator, critic, polemic journalist and playwright. He rose to prominence in the early 1970s, writing poetry that sharply contrasted with the free form poetry, free- ...

: "Eer maakt men lakens wit met inkt (...) dan dat ik (...) zeg wat ik thans lijden moet" ("Sooner will sheets be bleached with ink (...) than my suffering revealed by me"). "Op St. Juttemis" ("On St. Jutmas", i.e. the feast day of a nonexistent saint) *In

Egyptian Arabic Egyptian Arabic, locally known as Colloquial Egyptian, or simply as Masri, is the most widely spoken vernacular Arabic variety in Egypt. It is part of the Afro-Asiatic language family, and originated in the Nile Delta in Lower Egypt. The esti ...

: ''بكرة في المشمش'' (''bukra fil mish-mish'', "tomorrow when the

apricot An apricot (, ) is a fruit, or the tree that bears the fruit, of several species in the genus ''Prunus''. Usually an apricot is from the species '' P. armeniaca'', but the fruits of the other species in ''Prunus'' sect. ''Armeniaca'' are also ...

s bloom") * In English: '' When pigs fly!'', and ''Not before Hell freezes over!'' and its derivative ''

A snowball's chance in hell There are many common idioms of improbability, or adynata, used to denote that a given event is impossible or extremely unlikely to occur. In English Events that can never happen *As a response to an unlikely proposition, " when pigs fly", " ...

''. When the moon turns to green cheese. * in Finnish: ''kun lehmät lentävät'' ("when cows fly") or ''kun lipputanko kukkii'' ("when flagpole blossoms") * In French: ''Quand les poules auront des dents'' ("When hens grow teeth"), ''La semaine des quatre jeudis'' ("The week of the four Thursdays") . "À la St. Glinglin" (on the feast day of the nonexistent St. Glinglin); "Aux calendes grecques" (on the Greek Kalendae, which of course only existed on the

Roman calendar The Roman calendar was the calendar used by the Roman Kingdom and Roman Republic. Although the term is primarily used for Rome's pre-Julian calendars, it is often used inclusively of the Julian calendar established by Julius Caesar in 46&nbs ...

) * In

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

: ''Wenn Schweine fliegen könnten'' ( "When pigs can fly"); ''Wenn Ostern und Weihnachten zusammenfallen'' ("When Easter and Christmas coincide") * In Hungarian: ''majd ha piros hó esik'' ("when it's snowing red") * in

Romanian Romanian may refer to: *anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Romania **Romanians, an ethnic group **Romanian language, a Romance language ***Romanian dialects, variants of the Romanian language **Romanian cuisine, traditional ...

: ''La Paştele Cailor'' ("on horses' Easter") * In

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, a Romance ethnic group related to or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance languag ...

: ''Quando gli asini voleranno'' ("When donkeys fly"). * In Latvian: ''Kad pūcei aste ziedēs'' ("When an owl's tail blooms") * In

Levantine Arabic Levantine Arabic, also called Shami (Endonym and exonym, autonym: or ), is an Varieties of Arabic, Arabic variety spoken in the Levant, namely in Syria, Jordan, Lebanon, Palestine, Israel and southern Turkey (historically only in Adana Prov ...

: ''لما ينوّر الملح (lamma ynawwer al-malħ)'', ("when salt blooms") * In Malay: ''Tunggu kucing bertanduk'' ("when cats grow horns"). * In

Malayalam Malayalam (; , ) is a Dravidian languages, Dravidian language spoken in the Indian state of Kerala and the union territories of Lakshadweep and Puducherry (union territory), Puducherry (Mahé district) by the Malayali people. It is one of ...

: '' "കാക്ക മലർന്നു പറക്കും (kākka malarnnu paṟakkuṃ)" '' ("When hecrow will fly upside down"). * In Polish: ''Prędzej mi kaktus na dłoni wyrośnie'' ("Sooner the cactus grows on my palm."). * In Portuguese: ''quando as galinhas tiverem dentes'' ("when hens grow teeth"), ''nem que a vaca tussa'' ("not even if the cow coughs"), ''nem que chovam canivetes'' ("not even if it rains penknives"), ''no dia de São Nunca à tarde'' ("in the afternoon of St. Never's day"). * In

Russian Russian(s) may refer to: *Russians (), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries *A citizen of Russia *Russian language, the most widely spoken of the Slavic languages *''The Russians'', a b ...

: ''когда рак на горе свистнет'' (''kogdá rak na goré svístnet'', "when the crawfish whistles on the mountain"). * In Serbian or Croatian: ''kad na vrbi rodi grožđe'' ("when grapes grow on a willow"). * In Slovak: ''keď budú padať traktory'' ("when tractors will fall") or ''na svätého dindi'' ("On St. Dindi" probably taken from French.) * In

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many countries in the Americas **Spanish cuisine **Spanish history **Spanish culture ...

: ''Cuando las vacas vuelen'' ("When cows fly"), instead of "las vacas" the words "los chanchos" are also used, replacing "the cows" with "the pigs" or, in Spain (presumably) there could also be used ''Cuando las ranas críen pelo'' ("When the frogs grow hairs") * In Sumerian: “My ox will provide milk for you!” * in Swedish: ''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 Turkish: ''balık kavağa çıkınca'' ("when fish climb poplar trees"). * In

Persian Persian may refer to: * People and things from Iran, historically called ''Persia'' in the English language ** Persians, the majority ethnic group in Iran, not to be conflated with the Iranic peoples ** Persian language, an Iranian language of the ...

: ''vaght-e gol-e ney'' ("when bamboo blossoms")

Citations

References and further reading

Some Notes on the Adynaton in Medieval Literature
* Ronald Grambo, ''Adynaton Symbols in Proverbs. A Few Fragmentary Remarks'' (pp. 456–458). ''Proverbium 15''. Helsinki 1970. * Martti Haavio, ''Omöjlighetssymboler i finsk epik'' (pp. 73-83). Sed och Sägen 1956. * Myers, J., Wukasch, D
Dictionary of poetic terms
* Henrik Ibsens Skrifter ''Brand''. Peer Gynt. Universitetet i Oslo. H. Aschehoug & Co. (William Nygaard). Oslo 2007. . * Opata, D. "Adynaton Symbols in Igbo Proverbial Usage." ''Lore & Languages'', VI (1) (1987): 51–57.

External links

* {{Figures of speech Figures of speech Poetic devices