I could eat a Hippogriff

Being able to eat a Hippogriff is a derivation from the non-magical idiom ‘I could eat a horse’. This phrase is used to express great hunger. Due to its large size eating and entire horse or hippogriff poses a great challenge and is, therefore, a mere exaggeration to express great hunger. In the fourth novel Ron is in such a state of great hunger after his arrival in Hogwarts: “‘Oh, hurry up,’ Ron moaned, beside Harry. ‘I could eat a Hippogriff.’”[1]

            The wizarding world is populated by a large quantity of animals which cannot be seen by muggles. There are, however, myths circulating in the non-magical world which also include the hippogriff. This animal first appeared in the poem Orlando Furioso by Ariosto during the time of the Renaissance. He imagined it to be a hybrid of a griffin and a horse. A griffin is a hybrid of a lion and an eagle. This animal can only be tamed by wizards and knights[2] However, while muggles consider it to be a fantasy character it is a real animal in the wizarding world. It appears at first in Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Askaban during a lesson in Care of Magical Creatures. Newt Scamander describes Hippogriffs in his schoolbook Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them: “It has the head of a giant eagle and the body of a horse. It can be tamed, though this should be attempted only by experts. Eye contact should be maintained when approaching a Hippogriff. Bowing shows good intentions. If the Hippogriff returns the greeting, it is safe to draw closer.”[3]

Due to its tamability wizards can use it in the same way that muggles would use horses. For this reason, wizards and witches have no use for horses. It is, thus, reasonable to exchange the phrase ‘eat a horse’ with the phrase ‘eat a Hippogriff’.

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[1] Rowling, J. K. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. London: Bloomsbury, 2000, p.195.

[2] Edwards, Karen. Milton’s Reformed Animals: An Early Bestiary: Hippogriff. In: Milton Quarterly. May 2007, Vol. 41 Issue 2, p.94-95.

[3] Rowling, J.K. Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them by Newt Scamander, London: Bloomsbury, 2009, p.37-38.