{"id":10286,"date":"2022-11-02T20:18:51","date_gmt":"2022-11-02T20:18:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/english-grammar-lessons.com\/?p=10286"},"modified":"2022-11-02T20:18:51","modified_gmt":"2022-11-02T20:18:51","slug":"in-a-pigs-eye-meaning","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/english-grammar-lessons.com\/in-a-pigs-eye-meaning\/","title":{"rendered":"In a Pig's Eye \u2013 Meaning, Origin and Usage"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Are you looking for a defiant way to tell someone something will never happen? You could try the phrase \u201c<strong>in a pig\u2019s eye<\/strong>.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>This post explores the meaning and origin of this colorful slang phrase and shows you how to use it.<\/p>\n<h2>Meaning<\/h2>\n<p>You can use the phrase \u201c<strong>in a pig\u2019s eye<\/strong>\u201d to <u>convey strong (and even bitter) disagreement<\/u>. \u201cIn a pig\u2019s eye\u201d can mean \u201cnever,\u201d \u201cdefinitely not,\u201d or \u201cno chance in hell.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIn a pig\u2019s eye\u201d is the most-commonly heard variation of this expression, but related sayings with the same meaning include:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>In a pig\u2019s ear.<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>In a pig\u2019s ass.<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>Example Usage<\/h2>\n<p>Are you wondering how to use the curious expression \u201cin a pig\u2019s eye\u201d in a sentence? These examples might inspire you:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>\u201cI\u2019ve been working overtime for months already, and now the boss expects me to work on Christmas, too? <strong>In a pig\u2019s eye<\/strong>!\u201d<\/li>\n<li>\u201cI\u2019ll lend my lazy brother more money <strong>in a pig\u2019s eye<\/strong>. That\u2019s just money down the drain. He\u2019d never pay me back.\u201d<\/li>\n<li>\u201cMaggie said I\u2019d get along great with my new foster sibling. <strong>In a pig\u2019s eye<\/strong>!\u201d<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>Origin<\/h2>\n<p>The phrase \u201cin a pig\u2019s eye\u201d is a disdainful way to say \u201cno,\u201d or \u201cthat will never happen.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Its precise origins are unknown, but it first appeared in print as far back as <strong>1872<\/strong>, when satirist <strong>David Locke<\/strong> used the phrase in a satirical column:<\/p>\n<p>\u201cA poetical cotashun which wuz \u2014 'Kum wun, kim all, this rock shel fly From its firm base \u2014 <strong>in a pig's eye<\/strong>.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Other variations of the phrase include \u201c<strong>in a pig\u2019s ear<\/strong>\u201d and \u201c<strong>in a pig\u2019s ass<\/strong>.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Some speculate that \u201cin a pig\u2019s ass\u201d emerged first and that \u201cin a pig\u2019s ear\u201d is simply a less offensive variation.<\/p>\n<p>Others hold that \u201cin a pig\u2019s eye\u201d is the original saying and that it is a form of <strong>rhyming slang<\/strong>. \u201c<strong>When pigs fly<\/strong>,\u201d an idiom that also means \u201cnever,\u201d would be the inspiration in that case \u2014 \u201ceye\u201d rhymes with \u201cfly.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The expression \u201cin a pig\u2019s eye\u201d isn\u2019t as popular as it once was in the 21<sup>st<\/sup> century. It hasn\u2019t completely fallen out of use, however, even with younger generations.<\/p>\n<p>An <em>Urban Dictionary<\/em> entry defining \u201cin a pig\u2019s eye\u201d as \u201ca scoffing, derogatory \u2018that ain\u2019t gonna happen\u2019\u201d appeared as recently as <strong>2007<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p>Interestingly, the phrase \u201cpig\u2019s eye\u201d (on its own, within \u201cin\u201d) is also used to mean \u201ccheap beer.\u201d<\/p>\n<h2>Phrases Similar to in a Pig's Eye<\/h2>\n<p>Are you looking for other idioms or slang phrases like \u201cin a pig\u2019s eye,\u201d meaning never? You could also say:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>When hell freezes over<\/strong> \u2014 hell being notorious for eternally being rather hot.<\/li>\n<li><strong>When pigs fly<\/strong> \u2014 this related saying may even have inspired \u201cin a pig\u2019s eye.\u201d<\/li>\n<li><strong>Fat chance<\/strong>.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Yeah, right<\/strong>.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>Phrases Related to in a Pig's Eye<\/h2>\n<p>Other phrases that refer to pigs include:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>As fat as a pig<\/strong> \u2014 meaning very fat.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Cast pearls before swine<\/strong> \u2014 meaning giving something to someone who will not appreciate it.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Like lipstick on a pig<\/strong> \u2014 meaning dressing up something ugly won\u2019t make it any prettier.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Can\u2019t make a silk purse out of a sow\u2019s ear<\/strong> \u2014 meaning you can\u2019t create something valuable with bad resources.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>What Is the Correct Saying?<\/h2>\n<p>The correct saying is \u201c<strong>in a pig\u2019s eye<\/strong>.\u201d This slang expression means \u201cnever\u201d or \u201cno way.\u201d<\/p>\n<h2>Ways People May Say in a Pig's Eye Incorrectly<\/h2>\n<p>\u201cIn a pig\u2019s eye,\u201d \u201cin a pig\u2019s ear,\u201d and \u201cin a pig\u2019s ass\u201d all have the same meaning. You can use them interchangeably.<\/p>\n<p>The British expression \u201cto make a pig\u2019s ear of something\u201d has a different meaning, though \u2014 use this saying to indicate that someone did a very bad job.<\/p>\n<h2>Acceptable Ways to Say in a Pig's Eye<\/h2>\n<p>You can use the phrase \u201cin a pig\u2019s eye\u201d to decisively, and even scornfully, tell something that you\u2019ll never do something or that something will never happen.<\/p>\n<p>This slang phrase isn\u2019t that popular anymore, so keep in mind that not everyone will understand you.<\/p>\n<p><strong>\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p class=\"mb-2\">Are you looking for a defiant way to tell someone something will never happen? You could try the phrase \u201cin a pig\u2019s eye.\u201d This post explores the meaning and origin of this colorful slang phrase and shows you how to use it. Meaning You can use the phrase \u201cin a pig\u2019s eye\u201d to convey strong [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/english-grammar-lessons.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10286"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/english-grammar-lessons.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/english-grammar-lessons.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/english-grammar-lessons.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/english-grammar-lessons.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=10286"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/english-grammar-lessons.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10286\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":10287,"href":"https:\/\/english-grammar-lessons.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10286\/revisions\/10287"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/english-grammar-lessons.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=10286"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/english-grammar-lessons.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=10286"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/english-grammar-lessons.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=10286"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}