Literal translation
The time it takes to kill a donkey with blows of figs, or of fists
Meaning
an extremely long time, an eternity
Explanation
This expression names a stretch of time so long it becomes absurd, through the image of a task made deliberately endless: killing a donkey, a sturdy and enduring animal, through repeated light taps of figs or fists, both ludicrously weak means against such a solid beast. The humour lies in the mismatch between the goal, killing, and the means, figs, a soft and harmless projectile, which guarantees the operation will drag on forever. It is used to mock someone's slowness, an endless wait, or a task that stretches on for no good reason. The with fists variant follows the same comic logic, a donkey being hardly more impressed by punches than by figs. The register is familiar and vivid, typical of the Provençal taste for playful exaggeration and concrete animal comparisons, far removed from abstraction.