when pigs fly
"when-pigs-fly" is a 11-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“when pigs fly” is uncommon English (outside the top frequency list), classed as an adverb. The kind of spelling people second-guess.
- Unranked
- below top-frequency English
- 13
- letters
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Never.
Corpus desk
Index EN-when-pigs-fly · when pigs fly · English
when pigs fly · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables
- FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
- LEN-MEGA 13 letters
- VOW-3 3 vowels
- CONFUS-0 No pairs
- VAR-0 0 variants
- BOOK-THIN "W" thin
- PHOTO-UNK Peer pending
Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern
Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | when pigs fly |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Adverb |
| Letters | 13 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Long-tail rank of “when pigs fly” in English
Rare enough to double-check
when pigs fly is uncommon English outside the top frequency list, classed as anadverb. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "Never.".
when pigs fly has no tracked misspelling variants, since its letter pattern doesn't lend itself to common typo substitutions. It is not paired with a close-neighbour confusable in our dataset, since no other headword is close enough in sound or shape to pair with it.
Etymologically, the entry records: Referencing the fact that pigs do not have wings and cannot fly. The correct English form is when pigs fly, spelled W-H-E-N- -P-I-G-S- -F-L-Y.
Definition
- 1Never.
Recorded use
Wiktionary exampleThese source excerpts show how when pigs fly appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.
"You know, my friend," said Mongan, "that I can't get Duv Laca back unless the King of Leinster asks me to take her back, for a bargain is a bargain." "That will happen when pigs fly," said mac an Dáv, "and," said he, "I did not make any bargain with any king that is in the world."
Etymology
Referencing the fact that pigs do not have wings and cannot fly.
This word in other languages
Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.