Sayings

You can put wings on a pig, but you don't make it an eagle.

~ Bill Clinton

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I learn a few things as I write my blog. I learned that "when pigs fly" is an adynaton. It is a hyperbole that is so outrageous that it represents an impossibility. Sometimes as we learn, we have more questions. When did this way of speaking originate? (they think maybe during the classical era). WHY did it emerge? Did it catch on right away or was the first user mocked? What were some of the first adynata?

More importantly, exactly how does Bill Clinton put wings on a pig??