And gifted mortifying groans;
Had lights when better eyes were blind,
As pigs are said to see the wind."—Pt. 3. c. ii. l. 1105.
That most delightful of editors, Dr. Zachary Grey, with all his multifarious learning, leaves us here in the lurch for once with a simple reference to "Hudibras at Court," Posthumous Works, p. 213.
Is this phrase merely an hyperbolic way of saying that pigs are very sharp-sighted, or is it an actual piece of folk-lore expressing a belief that pies have the privilege of seeing "the viewless wind?" I am inclined to take the latter view. Under the head of "Superstitions," in Hone's Year-Book for Feb. 29, 1831, we find:
"Among common sayings at present are these, that pigs can see the wind," &c.
The version I have always heard of it is—
"Pigs can see the wind 'tis said,
And it seemeth to them red."
Eirionnach.