pie-in-the-sky

See also: pie in the sky

English

Etymology

From the noun pie in the sky.

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation, General American) IPA^(key): /ˈpaɪ n̩ ðə ˈskaɪ/

• Audio (General Australian):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -aɪ

Adjective

pie-in-the-sky (not comparable)

1. (idiomatic) Lacking reality and serviceability.

   a pie-in-the-sky patent

2. (idiomatic) Of a dream unlikely to ever come true; impractical, unrealizable.
   • 2017 March 1, Anthony Zurcher, “Trump addresses Congress: A kinder, gentler president”, in BBC News‎^[1], archived from the original on 5 June 2017:

     If his [Donald Trump's] detailing was productive, it was somewhat undermined by a final, typical Trumpian flourish of pie-in-the-sky rhetoric.

   • 2019 December 4, Nigel Harris, “Comment: Williams or Nationalisation?”, in Rail, page 3:

     In other words, the usual mix of sound thinking and pie-in-the-sky electioneering promises which convince no one.

   • 2024 April 18, Callum Jones, quoting Michael Nathanson, “Netflix profits surge as streaming service adds 9.3m subscribers in latest quarter”, in The Guardian‎^[2], →ISSN:

     “That said, we continue to remain cautious of pie-in-the-sky forecasts that see this hockey stick continuing indefinitely,” Nathanson added […] .

Translations

lacking reality

• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 不切實際的 / 不切实际的

• Japanese: 絵に描いた餅の (ja) (e ni kaita mochi no)

of a dream unlikely to ever come true

• French: utopique (fr), illusoire (fr)