瓢ひょう箪たんから駒こまが出でる

expression, ichidan verb

something unexpected happening; a joke becoming reality

Used when something surprising or unlikely occurs, especially when a casual remark or joke actually comes true. Literally 'a horse comes out of a gourd'.

• 冗じょう談だんで言いったら、瓢ひょう箪たんから駒こまが出でるように本ほん当とうに当あたった。

  I said it as a joke, but like a horse from a gourd, it actually came true.

• まさか彼かれが優ゆう勝しょうするとは、瓢ひょう箪たんから駒こまが出でる思おもいだ。

  I never expected him to win; it feels like a horse coming out of a gourd.

expression, ichidan verb

something impossible; something ridiculous

Rarely used to dismiss an idea as absurd or impossible. The primary usage is sense 1; this sense is mostly encountered in older or emphatic contexts.

• そんな話はなしは瓢ひょう箪たんから駒こまが出でるようなものだ。

  That story is as ridiculous as a horse coming out of a gourd.