Hell Freezes Over

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Hell Freezes Over Average ratng: 7,9/10 4032 reviews
Hell Freezes Over
Live album / studio album by
ReleasedNovember 8, 1994
StudioThe Village Recorder, Los Angeles, Sounds Interchange, Toronto (Studio tracks)
Warner Burbank Studios, Burbank, California (Live tracks); mixed at A&M Studios, Los Angeles; The Hit Factory, New York City and Village Recorders, Los Angeles[1]
GenreRock
Length72:36
Label
  • Eagles Recording Co.
Producer
Eagles chronology
The Very Best of the Eagles
(1994)
Hell Freezes Over
(1994)
Selected Works: 1972–1999
(2000)
Singles from Hell Freezes Over
  1. 'Get Over It'
    Released: 1994
  2. 'Love Will Keep Us Alive'
    Released: 1994
  3. 'The Girl from Yesterday'
    Released: 1994
  4. 'Learn To Be Still'
    Released: 1995
  5. 'Hotel California [Live]'
    Released: 1995
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[2]
Rolling Stone[3]
  • About “Hell Freezes Over” “Hell Freezes Over” Q&A. Album Credits. Producers Bill Szymczyk, Eagles, Elliot Scheiner & 2 more. Writers Barry de Vorzon, Don Felder, Don Henley & 5 more.
  • When hell freezes over definition: If you say that something will happen when hell freezes over, you mean that it will never happen.
  • When hell freezes over definition is - —used to say that one thinks that something will never happen. How to use when hell freezes over in a sentence.
Hell Freezes Over

Hell Freezes Over is the second live album by the Eagles, released in 1994. The album is the first to be released after the Eagles had reformed following a fourteen-year-long break up. The band's lineup was that of the Long Run era: Glenn Frey, Don Henley, Don Felder, Joe Walsh, and Timothy B. Burn dreamcast iso. Schmit. It contains four new studio tracks and eleven tracks recorded live in April 1994 for an MTV special. Two Top 40 Mainstream singles, 'Get Over It' and 'Love Will Keep Us Alive', were released from the album. It also features an acoustic version of 'Hotel California'. The four new studio recordings are the last to feature Don Felder, who was terminated from the band in 2001.

The album went to No. 1 on the Billboard album chart upon its release where it stayed for two weeks. The album has sold over 9 million copies in the United States.[4]

Hell Freezes Over was also released in video form on VHS, LaserDisc and DVD. Before the album was released, the Eagles also started a tour, which would last from 1994 to 1996 and became one of the most successful tours in music history.[5][6]

View credits, reviews, tracks and shop for the 2019 180 gram Vinyl release of Hell Freezes Over on Discogs. .New subscribers only. Plan automatically renews after trial. More ways to shop: Visit an Apple Store, call 1-800-MY-APPLE, or find a reseller.

  • 4Charts
  • 5Certifications

Background[edit]

The album name is in reference to a quote by Don Henley after the band's breakup in 1980. Henley was asked in an interview about when the band would play together again, to which he responded 'when Hell freezes over'.[6] Henley also said in 1982 on the break-up: 'I just rule out the possibility of putting the Eagles back together for a Lost Youth and Greed tour'.[7]

In 1993, an Eagles tribute album, Common Thread: The Songs of the Eagles, was recorded by several country artists. Travis Tritt, who covered 'Take It Easy' in the album, asked the band to appear in his video for the song.[8] The former Eagles band members agreed, and it would be the first time the group had appeared together in 13 years. Two months later, Glenn Frey and Henley had lunch with their management and decided to reunite.[8]

The band members performed live for the first time in April 1994 at Warner Bros. Studios in Burbank, California for an MTV special.[8] The recording sessions produced 11 tracks for the Hell Freezes Over album, including a new arrangement of 'Hotel California' that features an extended acoustic guitar and percussion opening. At the beginning of the concert, Frey joked to the audience: 'For the record, we never broke up; we just took a 14-year vacation'. The tour began on May 27, and the Hell Freezes Over album was released on November 8, 1994.[8] The album is the band's second live album, after their live album in 1980.

The new song 'Get Over It' became a modest hit, and another new song, 'Love Will Keep Us Alive', reached No. 1 on the Billboard Adult Contemporary chart.

The DVD is one of the first music releases to feature a DTS format soundtrack in addition to a PCM stereo soundtrack. The DVD also featured the song 'Seven Bridges Road' in DTS audio only. The DVD has since been re-released with an additional Dolby Digital soundtrack. The album was also released as a DTS CD in 1997.

Track listing[edit]

Original CD edition
No.TitleWriter(s)Lead vocalsLength
1.'Get Over It' (New song)Don Henley, Glenn FreyHenley3:31
2.'Love Will Keep Us Alive' (New song)Pete Vale, Jim Capaldi, Paul CarrackSchmit4:03
3.'The Girl from Yesterday' (New song)Frey, Jack TempchinFrey3:23
4.'Learn to Be Still' (New song)Henley, Stan LynchHenley4:28
5.'Tequlia Sunrise' (Originally from Desperado, 1973)Henley, FreyFrey3:28
6.'Hotel California' (Originally from Hotel California, 1976)Don Felder, Henley, FreyHenley7:12
7.'Wasted Time' (Originally from Hotel California)Henley, FreyHenley5:19
8.'Pretty Maids All in a Row' (Originally from Hotel California)Joe Walsh, Joe VitaleWalsh4:26
9.'I Can't Tell You Why' (Originally from The Long Run, 1979)Henley, Frey, Timothy B. SchmitSchmit5:11
10.'New York Minute' (Originally from Don Henley's The End of the Innocence, 1989)Henley, Danny Kortchmar, Jai WindingHenley6:37
11.'The Last Resort' (Originally from Hotel California)Henley, FreyHenley7:24
12.'Take It Easy' (Originally from Eagles, 1972)Jackson Browne, FreyFrey4:36
13.'In the City' (Originally from The Long Run)Walsh, Barry De VorzonWalsh4:07
14.'Life in the Fast Lane' (Originally from Hotel California)Henley, Frey, WalshHenley6:01
15.'Desperado' (Originally from Desperado)Henley, FreyHenley4:17
DVD only tracks
No.TitleWriter(s)Lead vocalsLength
1.'Help Me Through the Night' (Originally from Joe Walsh's So What, 1974)WalshWalsh
2.'The Heart of the Matter' (Originally from Don Henley's The End of the Innocence)Henley, Mike Campbell, J.D. SoutherHenley
3.'Seven Bridges Road' (Remixed recording from Eagles Live, 1980)Steve YoungFelder, Frey, Henley, Schmit, Walsh
  • All new songs, which were released as studio recordings on the album, but can be seen live on the VHS and DVD versions.
  • 'Seven Bridges Road' – DTS – A remastered version of the recording featured on Eagles Live, with a clearer separation of the five vocal parts to exploit the full potential of a 5.1 speaker set-up: Timothy B. Schmit is on the rear-right, Glenn Frey as the singer of the song's main melody on the front-right, Don Henley on the front-left and Joe Walsh on the rear-left. Don Felder is on the front-center channel.

Hell Freezes Over Tour Dates

Personnel[edit]

Compiled from Hell Freezes Over liner notes.[9]

Over

Eagles

  • Don Felder – electric guitar, acoustic guitar, pedal steel guitar, mandolin, vocals
  • Glenn Frey – electric and acoustic guitar, piano, keyboards, vocals
  • Don Henley – drums, acoustic guitar, percussion, vocals
  • Timothy B. Schmit – bass guitar, vocals
  • Joe Walsh – electric, acoustic, and slide guitar, organ, vocals

Additional personnel

  • John Corey – piano
  • Scott Crago – percussion, drums
  • Timothy Drury – keyboards, vocals
  • Stan Lynch – percussion
  • Jay Oliver – organ, keyboards, piano
  • Paulinho Da Costa – percussion
  • Gary Grimm – percussion
  • Brian Matthews – Electro-Theremin
  • Al Garth – trumpet on 'New York Minute'
  • Burbank Philharmonic Orchestra – backup on 'New York Minute'

Production

  • Eagles – production (all tracks)
  • Elliot Scheiner – production (all tracks except 'Learn to Be Still')
  • Rob Jacobs – production (all tracks)
  • Stan Lynch – production ('Learn to Be Still' only)
  • Joel Stillerman – executive producer
  • Carol Donovan – program producer
  • Beth McCarthy – program director
  • Audrey Johns – program line producer
  • Rob Jacobs, Elliot Scheiner – engineers
  • Charlie Bouis, Carl Glanville, Barry Goldberg, Andy Grassi, Tom Trafalski, Tom Winslow – second engineers
  • Todd Bowie and Chris Buttleman – guitar technician
  • Ted Jensen – mastering
  • Rob Jacobs, Dave Kob, Dave Reynolds, Elliot Scheiner – mixing
  • Adam Armstrong – vocal technician
  • Ted Jensen – editing
  • Don Davis, The Eagles, Jay Oliver – horn and stringarrangements
  • David Hewitt – live recording coordinator
  • John Halpern, David Skernick – photography
  • Keith Raywood – production design
  • Robin Sloane, Janet Wolsborn – art direction
  • Dwaine 'The Peachin' Trucker' Wise – road manager
  • Andrew Lopez – head driver

Charts[edit]

Weekly charts[edit]

Chart (1994)Peak position
Australian Top 50 Albums[10]23
French Top Albums[11]41
German Albums Chart[12]29
Japanese Albums Chart[13]6
Netherlands Top 100 Albums[14]10
Swedish Top 60 Albums[15]9
Swiss Top 100 Albums[16]26
US Billboard200[17]1
Chart (1995)Peak
position
Austrian Top 75 Albums[18]24
New Zealand Top 50 Albums[19]13
Norwegian Top 40 Albums[20]3
Chart (1996)Peak
position
UK Albums Chart[21]18
Chart (1997)Peak
position
US Catalog Albums[17]6
Chart (2001)Peak
position
Finnish Top 40 Albums[22]16
Chart (2019)Peak
position
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[23]26

Decade-end charts[edit]

Chart (1990–1999)Position
U.S. Billboard 200[24]37

Video/DVD[edit]

Chart (2002)Peak
position
Japanese DVDs Chart[25]151
Chart (2003)Peak
position
Netherlands Top 30 Music DVDs[26]3
Swedish Top 20 DVDs[27]1
Chart (2004)Peak
position
New Zealand Top 10 Music DVDs[28]1
Norwegian Top 10 DVDs[29]1
Portuguese Top 30 Music DVDs[30]3

Singles[edit]

YearSingleChartPosition
1994'Get Over It'US Adult Contemporary21
US Mainstream Rock Tracks4
US Billboard Hot 10031
US Top 40 Mainstream26
'Love Will Keep Us Alive'US Adult Contemporary1
'The Girl from Yesterday'US Hot Country Singles & Tracks58
1995'Learn to Be Still'US Adult Contemporary15
US Mainstream Rock Tracks33
'Love Will Keep Us Alive'US Adult Top 4037
US Top 40 Mainstream27

Hell Freezes Over Dvd

Certifications[edit]

Album[edit]

RegionCertificationCertified units/sales
Canada (Music Canada)[31]7× Platinum700,000^
Japan (RIAJ)[32]Gold286,000[33]
Netherlands (NVPI)[34]Gold50,000^
Norway (IFPI Norway)[35]Platinum50,000*
Spain (PROMUSICAE)[36]Gold50,000^
Sweden (GLF)[37]Gold50,000^
United Kingdom (BPI)[38]Platinum300,000^
United States (RIAA)[39]9× Platinum9,000,000[4]

*sales figures based on certification alone
^shipments figures based on certification alone

Video/DVD[edit]

RegionCertificationCertified units/sales
Argentina (CAPIF)[40]Platinum8,000^
Australia (ARIA)[41]20× Platinum300,000^
Canada (Music Canada)[42]Platinum10,000^
Denmark (IFPI Denmark)[43]2× Platinum80,000^
New Zealand (RMNZ)[44]9× Platinum45,000^
Sweden (GLF)[45]Gold10,000^
United Kingdom (BPI)[46]2× Platinum100,000^
United States (RIAA)[47]8× Platinum800,000^

^shipments figures based on certification alone

References[edit]

  1. ^'Eagles – Hell Freezes Over'. Discogs.
  2. ^Ruhlmann, William. 'Hell Freezes Over'. AllMusic. Retrieved September 10, 2013.
  3. ^Brackett, Nathan; Hoard, Christian David (2004). Eagles. Simon and Schuster. Archived from the original on February 28, 2013. Retrieved August 26, 2012.
  4. ^ ab'Eagles: Gold & Platinum'. Billboard.
  5. ^'1994–1996 Hell Freezes OverTour'. Eagles Online Central.
  6. ^ abCorbin Reiff (November 8, 2014). '20 Years Ago: The Eagles Release 'Hell Freezes Over''. Ultimate Classic Rock.
  7. ^Fred Schruers (November 1, 1982). 'They Soared in the Seventies but the Eagles Are Now Following Separate Flight Plans'. People magazine.
  8. ^ abcdGayle Thompson (May 27, 2015). '21 Years Ago: The Eagles Reunite for Hell Freezes Over Tour'. The Boot.
  9. ^Hell Freezes Over (CD booklet). Eagles. Geffen Records. 1994. 24725.CS1 maint: others (link)
  10. ^'Eagles – Hell Freezes Over (Album)'(ASP). Australian Charts. Hung Medien. Retrieved August 7, 2011.
  11. ^'Les 'Charts Runs' de chaque Album Classé'. InfoDisc (in French). Archived from the original(PHP) on 2010-02-18. Find 'The EAGLES' on the drop-down menu to see results.
  12. ^'Chartverfolgung / EAGLES / Longplay'. Music Line (in German). Media Control Charts. Retrieved August 7, 2011.
  13. ^'Artist Ranking CD Album'. Oricon Style (in Japanese). Retrieved August 7, 2011.
  14. ^'Eagles – Hell Freezes Over (Album)'(ASP). Dutch Charts (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved August 7, 2011.
  15. ^'Eagles – Hell Freezes Over (Album)'(ASP). Swedish Charts. Hung Medien. Retrieved August 7, 2011.
  16. ^'Eagles – Hell Freezes Over'(ASP). Swiss Charts. Hung Medien. Retrieved August 7, 2011.
  17. ^ ab'Hell Freezes Over – Eagles'. Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved August 7, 2011.
  18. ^'Eagles – Hell Freezes Over (Album)'(ASP). Austrian Charts (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved August 7, 2011.
  19. ^'Eagles – Hell Freezes Over (Album)'(ASP). New Zealand Charts. Hung Medien. Retrieved August 7, 2011.
  20. ^'Eagles – Hell Freezes Over (Album)'(ASP). Norwegian Charts. Hung Medien. Retrieved August 7, 2011.
  21. ^'Chart Archive: Top 40 Official UK Albums Archive – August 17th, 1996'. The Official Charts Company. Retrieved August 7, 2011.
  22. ^'Eagles – Hell Freezes Over (Album)'(ASP). Finnish Charts. Hung Medien. Retrieved August 7, 2011.
  23. ^'Offiziellecharts.de – Eagles – Hell Freezes Over' (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved March 15, 2019.
  24. ^Geoff Mayfield (December 25, 1999). 1999 The Year in Music Totally '90s: Diary of a Decade – The listing of Top Pop Albums of the '90s & Hot 100 Singles of the '90s. Billboard. Retrieved October 15, 2010.
  25. ^'Artist Ranking DVD'. Oricon Style (in Japanese). Retrieved August 7, 2011.
  26. ^'GfK Dutch DVD Music Top 30'(ASP). Dutch Charts (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved August 7, 2011.
  27. ^'Sverigetopplistan'. Sverigetopplistan (in Swedish). Search for Eagles and click Sök.
  28. ^'Top 10 Music DVDs'. Recording Industry Association of New Zealand. Archived from the original(ASP) on June 11, 2012. Retrieved August 7, 2011.
  29. ^'Topp 10 DVD Audio: 2004 – Uke 14'. VG-lista (in Norwegian). Retrieved August 7, 2011.
  30. ^'Top 30 DVD's Musicais – Semana 14 De 2004'. Associação Fonográfica Portuguesa (in Portuguese). Archived from the original(PHP) on October 6, 2011. Retrieved August 7, 2011.
  31. ^'Canadian album certifications – Eagles – Hell Freezes Over'. Music Canada.
  32. ^'RIAJ > The Record > January 1995 > Certified Awards (November 1994)'(PDF). Recording Industry Association of Japan (in Japanese). Archived from the original(PDF) on November 3, 2013. Retrieved February 2, 2014.
  33. ^Oricon Album Chart Book: Complete Edition 1970–2005. Roppongi, Tokyo: Oricon Entertainment. 2006. ISBN4-87131-077-9.
  34. ^'Dutch album certifications – Eagles – Hell Freezes Over' (in Dutch). Nederlandse Vereniging van Producenten en Importeurs van beeld- en geluidsdragers. Retrieved 28 February 2019.Enter Hell Freezes Over in the 'Artiest of titel' box.
  35. ^'Norwegian album certifications – Eagles – Hell Freezes Over' (in Norwegian). IFPI Norway.
  36. ^Salaverrie, Fernando (September 2005). Sólo éxitos: año a año, 1959–2002(PDF) (in Spanish) (1st ed.). Madrid: Fundación Autor/SGAE. p. 938. ISBN84-8048-639-2. Retrieved 17 September 2019.
  37. ^'Guld- och Platinacertifikat − År 1987−1998'(PDF) (in Swedish). IFPI Sweden.
  38. ^'British album certifications – Eagles – Hell Freezes Over'. British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved November 3, 2017.Select albums in the Format field.Select Platinum in the Certification field.Type Hell Freezes Over in the 'Search BPI Awards' field and then press Enter.
  39. ^'American album certifications – Eagles – Hell Freezes Over'. Recording Industry Association of America.If necessary, click Advanced, then click Format, then select Album, then click SEARCH.
  40. ^'Argentinian video certifications – Eagles – Hell Freezes Over'. Argentine Chamber of Phonograms and Videograms Producers.
  41. ^'ARIA Charts – Accreditations – 2005 DVDs'. Australian Recording Industry Association.
  42. ^'Canadian video certifications – Eagles – Hell Freezes Over'. Music Canada.
  43. ^'Hitlisten.NU – Danmarks officielle hitlister' (in Danish). Tracklisten. Retrieved August 21, 2015.
  44. ^'Latest Gold / Platinum Albums'. Radioscope. 17 July 2011. Archived from the original on 2011-07-24.
  45. ^'Sveriges Officiella Topplista' (in Swedish). sverigetopplistan.se. Retrieved August 21, 2015. Note: Search for 'Eagles' and press 'Sök'. Then select the video album to see certification awards.
  46. ^'British video certifications – Eagles – Hell Freezes Over'. British Phonographic Industry.Select videos in the Format field.Select Platinum in the Certification field.Type Hell Freezes Over in the 'Search BPI Awards' field and then press Enter.
  47. ^'American video certifications – Eagles – Hell Freezes Over'. Recording Industry Association of America.If necessary, click Advanced, then click Format, then select Video Longform, then click SEARCH.
Retrieved from 'https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Hell_Freezes_Over&oldid=917048949'
(Redirected from When hell freezes over)

There are many idioms of improbability, used to denote that a given event is impossible or extremely unlikely to occur.

In English[edit]

Look up when pigs fly in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.
Flying pig
A flying pig is a symbol of an impossible event coming to pass. The popular vernacular, saying something will happen 'when pigs fly',[1] or 'when pigs have wings' is traditionally used to mean that the specified event will never occur.
Cold hell
Rises from the general belief that hell is an extremely hot place. Expressions include 'when hell freezes over',[1][2] 'a cold day in hell',[1] 'Satan will be ice-skating to work', and 'a snowball's chance in hell'.
Don't hold your breath
Used to indicate that something hoped for will likely never happen,[3] implying that if one held their breath while waiting they would die.
If the sky falls, we shall catch larks
Once in a blue moon
A blue moon is variously understood as being a rare event.
Twelfth of Never
Something that will happen on the 'Twelfth of Never' will 'never come to pass'.[4] There is a Johnny Mathissong of the same name, which hit number one in the charts when it was covered by Donny Osmond.
Like getting blood from a stone

Generally taken to mean a pointless task due to its difficulty. Possibly has its origins in the similar idiom, 'Squeezing water from a stone', which has the same meaning.

The Chicago Cubs winning the World Series
This references the Cubs holding the longest championship drought in North American professional sports until their victory in the 2016 World Series; their previous World Series win was in 1908.
The Cronulla Sharks winning the NRL premiership
This references the Sharks holding the longest drought in Australian professional sports until their maiden victory in the 2016 Grand Final over the Melbourne Storm; the Sharks entered the competition in 1967.
Few and far between

In other languages[edit]

  • Afrikaans – as die perde horings kry ('when horses grow horns')
  • Albanian – ne 36 gusht ('on August 36')
  • Arabic has a wide range of idioms differing from a region to another. In some Arab countries of the Persian Gulf, one would say إذا حجت البقرة على قرونها ('when the cow goes on pilgrimage on its horns'). In Egypt, one says في المشمش, ('when the apricots bloom'). Other Arab people, mainly Palestinian, use the expression لما ينور الملح, which roughly translates into 'when salt glows', which means 'never' because salt is not a glowing material.
  • Chinese – 太陽從西邊升起 ('when the sun rises in the West')
  • Czech – až naprší a uschne meaning 'When it rains and dries'. Another expression is až opadá listí z dubu ('When the leaves fall from the oak')
  • Dutch – met Sint-juttemis [nl], or als Pinksteren en Pasen op één dag vallen ('when Pentecost and Easter are on the same day')
  • Esperanto – je la tago de Sankta Neniam ('on Saint Never's Day') — a loan-translation from German (see below).
  • Finnish – sitten kun lehmät lentävät - when the cows fly. Also jos lehmällä olisi siivet, se lentäisi (if cow had wings, it would fly), implying futile speculations. Also kun lipputanko kukkii ('when flagpole blossoms') and Tuohikuussa Pukin-päivän aikaan ('in Barkember on St. Buck's day', implying an imaginary month and imaginary day). Sometimes also kun Helvetti jäätyy ('when Hell freezes over'), although saying it aloud to someone is considered very rude and hostile.
  • French – à la Saint-Glinglin (on Saint Glinglin's day). Glinglin is a nonsense rhyme for the French word saint. A couple of other expressions are quand les poules auront des dents ('when hens have teeth') and quand les coqs pondront des œufs ('when roosters lay eggs'). An expression, today falling into disuse, is la semaine des quatre jeudis ('the week of the four Thursdays'), as in 'that will happen (or not) during the week of the four Thursdays' (Thursday was the break in the school week). The expression aux calendes grecques ('to the Greek Calends') was also used for indefinite postponement, derived from the ancient Latin expression (see below).
  • German – Wenn Schweine fliegen können! is identical with the English saying 'when pigs fly', although the older proverb Wenn Schweine Flügel hätten, wäre alles möglich ('if pigs had wings, everything would be possible') is in more common use, often modified on the second part to something impossible, like 'if pigs had wings, even your idea might work'. Another phrase is Am Sankt-Nimmerleins-Tag ('on St. Never's Day').
  • Georgian– როცა ვირი ხეზე ავა ('when the donkey climbs the tree')
  • Greek – Του Αγίου Ποτέ ('on St. Never's [Day]') is sometimes used, however the profane Του Αγίου Πούτσου ανήμερα ('right on the Day of St. Dick's') is more popular. A common expression used to point out someone's wishful thinking is Αν η γιαγιά μου είχε καρούλια, θα ήταν πατίνι ('If my grandmother had wheels she would be a skateboard').
  • Hebrew – כשיצמחו שיערות על כף ידי ('when hair grows on the palm of my hand', a part of the human body where hair never grows). Another is a legal term, referring to the indefinite postponing of a case, 'until Elijah comes'.
  • Hungarian – The two most often used expressions are majd ha piros hó esik ('when it's snowing red snowflakes'), and majd ha cigánygyerekek potyognak az égből ('When gypsy children are streaming from the sky'). There is a third one: majd ha fagy ('When it freezes'), the short version of majd ha a pokol befagy ('When hell freezes over'), which is not used much anymore. A couple of other expressions are holnapután kiskedden ('on the less holy[5] Tuesday after tomorrow') and soha napján (on the day of never).
  • Italian – Common idioms are quando gli asini voleranno ('when donkeys will fly'), il 31 febbraio ('the 31st of February'), il giorno di 'mai' ed il mese di 'poi' ('the 'never' day and the 'then' month') and, similarly to Latin, alle Calende greche ('to the Greek Kalends'). To imply futile speculations, a common expression is se mia nonna avesse le ruote, sarebbe una carriola ('if my grandma had wheels, she'd be a wheelbarrow').
  • Latin – ad kalendas graecas ('to the Greek Kalends') signified indefinite postponement, since the Greek calendar had no Calends period; also cum mula peperit = 'when a mule foaled'.
  • Japanese - 網の目に風とまらず (amenomenikazetomarazu) Literally meaning 'You can't catch wind in a net.' Another idiom of improbability is 畑に蛤 (Hata ni hamaguri) which means finding clams in a field.
  • Limburgish – Te Pruimpaschen, als de kalveren op 't ijs dansen (usually shortened to just met Sint-juttemis[clarification needed]), meaning 'on Saint-juttemis day, when the calves are dancing on the ice'. This Saint-juttemis is usually thought to be a fictional saint in the vein of Saint Glinglin but is in fact real (St. Judith in English). Therefore, Sint-juttemis day is an actual day (the 17th of August) and this makes saying just 'on Saint-juttemis day' when one means 'never', a prime example of irony. The adding of the phrase 'when the calves are dancing on the ice' is what makes the phrase impossible, because it never freezes on the 17th of August in the Netherlands.
  • Lombard (Milanese dialect) – quand pìssen i òch ('when the geese will piss'), refers to the popular belief that a goose never urinates[citation needed]
  • Malay – menunggu kucing bertanduk ('to wait until a horned cat walks by')
  • Malayalam – കാക്ക മലർന്നു പറക്കും (kākka malarnnu paṟakkuṃ), '[the] crow will fly upside down'[6]
  • Marathi – आत्याबाईं ना मिश्या असत्या तर काका म्हंटले असते (Ãtyābāiḥ nā mishyā asatyā tar kākã mhaṭalā asatā), 'if aunt (here: father's sister) grows moustaches she would be called uncle'[7]
  • Persian – وقت گل نی (vaght e gol e ney), 'when the reed plant blossoms'
  • Piedmontese (Turin dialect) – An unlikely event will occur in the smana dij tre giòbia (the 'week with three Thursdays').
  • Polish – na święty Nigdy ('till St. Never's Day'); zobaczysz.. jak świnia niebo ('you'll see [something] like a pig will see the heaven'); prędzej mi kaktus na dłoni wyrośnie ('sooner will a cactus grow on my palm'); (pulling down the lower eyelid of an eye) Jedzie mi tu pociąg? ('Is a train running here on me?').
  • Portuguese – no dia de São Nunca ('on Saint Never's day'), nem que a vaca tussa ('not even if the cow coughs'), quando os porcos voarem ('when pigs fly') and quando as galinhas tiverem dentes ('when chickens have teeth').[8] In Brazilian Portuguese, especially in the historical context of WWII, quando cobra fumar ('when a snake smokes'), which has since reversed meaning, given the participation of Brazil in the war.
  • Romanian – la paștele cailor/la Ispas ('on the horses' Easter/on Ispas'), când o face plopul pere și răchita micșunele ('when poplars would grow pears and willows wallflowers'), la sfântul așteaptă ('on Saint Waits' Day'), and când va zbura porcul ('when pigs fly')
  • Russian – когда рак на горе свистнет (kogdá rak na goré svístnet), 'when the crawfish whistles on the mountain'. После дождичка в четверг (posle dojdichka v chetverg), literally 'after the rain on Thursday' yet meaning never.
  • Serbian – кад на врби роди грожђе (kad na vrbi rodi grožđe), 'when willow bears grapes'. Another variant is кад на врби засврби (kad na vrbi zasvrbi), 'when willow get itchy'. Note rhyme in vrbi zasvrbi. Мало сутра (malo sutra), literally 'a little bit tomorrow', has a similar meaning as 'all my eye'.
  • Seychellois Creole, also known as Kreol or Seselwa (creole spoken in Seychelles) – lannen de mil zanmen is used, which means 'year two thousand and never'. It is a fairly new expression used mainly among the youth.
  • Slovene – Ob svetem Nikoli is a wordplay that literally means 'on St. Nicholas' feast day'. The word nikoli, when stressed on the second syllable, means 'never', when stressed on the first it is the locative case of Nikola, i.e. Nicholas
  • Spanish – cuando las vacas vuelen ('when cows fly') or cuando los chanchos vuelen ('when pigs fly'). Its most common use is in response to an affirmative statement, for example 'I saw Mrs. Smith exercising, I swear!' to which the response given would be something like, 'Yeah right, and cows fly'. Other variations slightly fallen into disuse include cuando las ranas crien pelo ('when frogs grow hair') and cuando San Juan agache el dedo ('when Saint John bends his finger'). The latter is a reference to the common depiction of St. John with one or two extended fingers.
  • Tagalog – kapag namuti ang uwak, kapag nangitim ang tagak ('when the crow turns white, when the egret turns black'). Note the euphony between the nouns uwak and tagak.
  • Turkish – balık kavağa çıktığında ('when the fish climbs the poplar tree'). Another one is çıkmaz ayın son Çarşambasında ('at the last Wednesday of the endless month')
  • Ukrainian – коли рак на горі свисне ('koly rak no hori svysne'), 'when the crawfish whistles on the mountain'; or a longer variant коли рак на горі свисне, а риба заспіває (koly rak no hori svysne, a ryba zaspivaye), 'when the crawfish whistles on the mountain and fish sings'. Another expression is не бачити тобі .. як своїх вух ('you'll never see [something] like you will never see your ears').

See also[edit]

  • Black swan theory, a term developed by Nassim Taleb to label unexpected, rare events

References[edit]

  1. ^ abcAshcraft 2014, pp. 124-125.
  2. ^'Definition of 'when hell freezes over' - English Dictionary'. Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary & Thesaurus. Cambridge University Press. Retrieved 12 June 2017.
  3. ^Heacock 2003, p. 46.
  4. ^Obert 2015, p. 44.
  5. ^'kiskedd' is fictional counterpart of 'nagykedd' i.e. Holy Tuesday
  6. ^'When pigs fly / When hell freezes over'.
  7. ^Scribby (7 May 2010). 'Retro'.
  8. ^Britto, Patricia (September 17, 2014). ''Nem que a vaca tussa' governo mexe no 13º e nas férias, afirma Dilma'. Folha de S. Paulo (in Portuguese). Folhapress. Retrieved 12 June 2017.

Works cited[edit]

  • Heacock, Paul (2003). Cambridge Dictionary of American Idioms (reprint ed.). Cambridge University Press. ISBN9780521532716. Retrieved 12 June 2017.
  • Ashcraft, Brian (2014). Jargonaut Express: Essential Idioms for the Astute Business Speaker. Lulu Press, Inc. ISBN9781483407357. Retrieved 12 June 2017.
  • Obert, Julia C. (2015). Postcolonial Overtures: The Politics of Sound in Contemporary Northern Irish Poetry (reprint ed.). Syracuse, New York: Syracuse University Press. ISBN9780815653493. Retrieved 12 June 2017.
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