IdiomThe Absurd
French
FrenchÀ la Saint-Glinglin
Meaning: Never — on a day that will never come.
Literally: On Saint Glinglin's day
Example: “Il me rendra mon livre à la Saint-Glinglin.” — He'll give my book back when hell freezes over.
English equivalent: When hell freezes over
Other ways to say this
Russian: Когда рак на горе свистнет (Kogda rak na gore svistnet) Literally: When a crayfish whistles on the mountain- French: Quand les poules auront des dents Literally: When hens have teeth
- Russian: После дождичка в четверг (Posle dozhdichka v chetverg) Literally: After the little rain on Thursday
Portuguese: Nem que a vaca tussa Literally: Not even if the cow coughs
English: at latter Lammas
Italian: alle calende greche Literally: On the Greek calends- English: when hell freezes over
- French: Aux calendes grecques Literally: At the Greek calends
- English: when pigs fly
Origin: There is no Saint Glinglin. The name appears to combine a dialect form of seing, a bell, with glinglin for its ringing, producing a feast day that cannot fall because the saint was never born.
More French idioms
- Veiller au grain To stay alert for trouble.
- Tomber des hallebardes To rain extremely hard.
- L'été indien A spell of unseasonably warm weather in autumn.
- La partie émergée de l'iceberg The small visible portion of a much larger problem.
- Faire flèche de tout bois To use every available means to achieve an end.
- Blanchir sous le harnais To grow old in a profession.
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