Adynaton

Adynaton (plural adynata) is a figure of speech in the form of hyperbole 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 ἀδύνατον (adunaton), neuter of ἀδύνατος (adunatos), "unable, impossible" (a-, "without" + dynasthai, "to be powerful").

Classical and Medieval usage

Adynaton was a widespread literary and rhetorical device during the Classical Period. Its plural form (adynata) was translated 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 appear 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

Some modern adynata include:

• In Bulgarian: 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"). 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: "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").
• In English: When pigs fly!, and Not before Hell freezes over! and its derivative A snowball's chance in hell. When the moon turns to green cheese. As a matter of fact, the whole song "As" by Stevie Wonder is one big adynaton.
• 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") .
• In German: 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: La Pastele Cailor ("on horses' Easter")
• In Italian: Quando gli asini voleranno ("When donkeys fly").
• In Latvian: Kad pūcei aste ziedēs ("When an owl's tail blooms")
• In Malay: Tunggu kucing bertanduk ("when cats grow horns").
• In Malayalam: "കാക്ക മലർന്നു പറക്കും (kākka malarnnu paṟakkuṃ)" ("When [the] crow 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 chickens grow teeth"), quando chover canivete ("when it rains pocketknives"), nem que a vaca tussa ("not even if the cow coughs"), no dia de São Nunca ("on the day of St. Never").
• In Russian: 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 Spanish: Cuando las vacas vuelen ("When cows fly"), or Cuando las ranas críen pelo ("When the frogs grow hairs")
• 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").

See also

• 'Pataphysics
• List of idioms of improbability

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.