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cloud-cuckoo-land

[ kloud-koo-koo-land, -kook-oo- ]
/ ˈklaʊdˌku kuˌlænd, -ˌkʊk u- /

noun

an idealized, illusory domain of imagination; cloudland: the cloud-cuckoo-land of technicolor cartoon whimsy.

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Origin of cloud-cuckoo-land

First recorded in 1815–25; translation of Greek Nephelokokkȳgía, the realm which separates the gods from mortals in Aristophanes' The Birds

Words nearby cloud-cuckoo-land

cloud cap, cloud-capped, cloud chamber, cloud computing, cloud cover, cloud-cuckoo-land, cloud ear, clouded, clouded leopard, clouded yellow, cloud eggs
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2021

Example sentences from the Web for cloud-cuckoo-land

British Dictionary definitions for cloud-cuckoo-land

cloud-cuckoo-land

cloudland

/ (ˈklaʊdˌlænd) /

noun

a realm of fantasy, dreams, or impractical notions
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Idioms and Phrases with cloud-cuckoo-land

cloud-cuckoo land

An idealized mythical domain, as in That idea about flying cars is straight out of cloud-cuckoo land. This expression originated as a translation from the Greek of Aristophanes' play The Birds, where it signifies the realm built by the birds to separate the gods from humankind. It came into use in the 1820s. During the 19th century it began to be used for a place of wildly fanciful dreams, unrealistic expectations, or the like, and it also acquired the connotation of “crazy” (from cuckoo, slang for “crazy” since about 1900). Also see la-la land; never-never land.

The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.