Cultural references to pigs

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Pigs have inspired many idioms, and are frequently referenced in culture.

[edit] Pigs and people

  • Pigs are often used to comment on the human condition. Winston Churchill said that "Dogs look up to us. Cats look down on us. Pigs treat us as equals."
  • A number of schools (elementary, middle, and high schools) and universities have adopted pig or pig-related mascots. The most notable in the USA is the University of Arkansas Razorbacks, whose mascot, the razorback (Sus scrofa) makes them the only university or major sports team in the United States with a porcine mascot.
  • In European folklore, there is a widespread belief that pigs are intensely frightened by mirrors.
  • Magical transformation of humans into pigs has been used as a key plot device in fantasy storytelling - for example the Ancient Greek epic The Odyssey, in which the hero's ship's crew is turned into pigs by Circe. Val Kilmer's character Madmartigan in Ron Howard's Willow (film) is transformed into a pig along with other men.
  • Zhu Bajie is a famous part human, part pig, literary character from the Chinese novel Journey to the West.
  • Harley Davidson motorcycles are sometimes referred to as "hogs".

[edit] Pig-related idioms

  • The idiomatic phrase "when pigs fly" (or 'pigs might fly') refers to something that is unlikely to ever happen. Though its origins are much older, its popularity is reinforced by such popular references as in the Lewis Carroll poem The Walrus and the Carpenter and Pink Floyd's album Animals.
  • The English language abounds with unflattering references and idioms involving pigs. Pigs are commonly associated with greed ("as greedy as a pig") and obesity, gluttony ("to pig out"). Likewise, a hog is someone or something that monopolizes time, resources, or processes, e.g. a road hog or server hog. Pigs are also associated with dirtiness ("this room is a pigsty"); the latter probably comes from their habit of wallowing in mud. The perennially soot-covered character in the Peanuts comic strip is named Pig-Pen.
  • "In a pig's eye" is a rhyming slang expression meaning, "That's not true." ("Pig's eye" rhymes with "lie".) There are also variants to this saying, such as "In a pig's ass."
  • "Sweating like a Pig" to denote sweating profusely. Strictly this is illogical, as pigs have ineffective sweat glands.
  • The Missouri folklorist Max Hunter collected a number of pig-related idioms:
"It's plain as a pig on a sofa"
"Clumsy as a hog on ice"
"Content as a dead pig in the sunshine"
"Wild as a peach-orchard hog"
  • Thrifty (if not fussy) sausage-makers were said to use "everything but the squeal".
  • The term "slicker than a greased pig" refers an event that went well without any set backs. The term "greased pig" can also refer to something that is difficult to obtain.
  • The phrase "pig's ear" means a useless object. To make a (total) pig's ear of something means to (totally) mess it up.

[edit] Music and art

  • Pigs Is Pigs, is the title of a 1937 Warner Bros. Merrie Melodies cartoon. This noted cartoon tells a story rooted in the synonymy of pigs with gluttony.
  • Some metal bands use something called inward vocals, also known as pig squeals.
  • Pigs feature heavily in the artwork and stage shows of the rock band Pink Floyd.
  • The pig that appears on the cover on Pink Floyd's album Animals is called Algie.
  • The fictional character Wizpig is the main villain in Diddy Kong Racing.