🤖 Literally, in English
“When the crayfish whistles on the mountain.”
Коли рак на горі свисне. Koly rak na hori svysne
🤨 What does it ACTUALLY mean? →
🇬🇧 What you'd actually say
“Never — that's not going to happen.”
also: “Don't hold your breath.” · “That'll be the day.”
- 📖 Meaning
- Used to say that something will never happen.
- 💡 Why it's funny
- English chose flying pigs; Ukrainian chose a crayfish that has climbed a mountain and taken up whistling. The Ukrainian version requires the animal to complete two separate impossible tasks.
- 🧭 Closest English idiom
- “When pigs fly.”
- 📝 Explanation
- The standard sarcastic answer to a promise nobody believes — a pay rise, a repaired road, a relative who says they will help.
🧠 Learn
- when pigs fly (idiom) — never; used sarcastically — коли рак на горі свисне “He'll apologise when pigs fly.”
- don't hold your breath (phrase) — don't expect it to happen soon — не чекай, не дочекаєшся “They said they'd call — don't hold your breath.”
🗣 In context
Вони обіцяють полагодити дорогу. Коли рак на горі свисне.
They promise to fix the road. Yeah, when pigs fly.
🎧 Hear the contrast
dontpushthehorses.xyz
