never-never land

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noun

an unreal, imaginary, or ideal state, condition, place, etc.

any remote, isolated, barren, or sparsely settled region.

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Also called neverland, never-never.

Origin of never-never land

1875–85 for def. 2; reduplication of never

Words nearby never-never land

neverland, nevermind, never miss a trick, nevermore, never-never, never-never land, never put off until tomorrow, Never put off until tomorrow what you can do today, Nevers, Never say die, never say never

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2022

How to use never-never land in a sentence

The simple, awful truth is that free speech has never been particularly popular in America.
How the PC Police Threaten Free Speech|Nick Gillespie|January 9, 2015|DAILY BEAST
He looks like a man who should have had kids, but now never will.
The Muslim Cop Killed by Terrorists|Michael Daly|January 9, 2015|DAILY BEAST
For every nanosecond that I miraculously lift off the ground, I land with an inordinately loud thud.
How Taryn Toomey’s ‘The Class’ Became New York’s Latest Fitness Craze|Lizzie Crocker|January 9, 2015|DAILY BEAST
In an email exchange a friend said many had repeated this same succinct review but they could never elaborate.
‘Empire’ Review: Hip-Hop Musical Chairs with an Insane Soap Opera Twist|Judnick Mayard|January 8, 2015|DAILY BEAST

Meanwhile, almost exactly 30 years after the trial, the judge left his home to board a steamboat and was never heard from again.
New York’s Most Tragic Ghost Loves Minimalist Swedish Fashion|Nina Strochlic|January 8, 2015|DAILY BEAST
Bessires was included because he would never win it at any later date, but his doglike devotion made him a priceless subordinate.
Napoleon's Marshals|R. P. Dunn-Pattison
Now, it immediately occurred to Davy that he had never in his whole life had all the plums he wanted at any one time.
Davy and The Goblin|Charles E. Carryl
Arches more graceful in form, or better fitted to defy the assaults of time, I have never seen.
Glances at Europe|Horace Greeley
The policemen looked dull and heavy, as if never again would any one be criminal, and as if they had come to know it.
Bella Donna|Robert Hichens
Then with your victorious legions you can march south and help drive the Yankee invaders from the land.
The Courier of the Ozarks|Byron A. Dunn

Cultural definitions for never-never land

Never-Never Land

Originally called Neverland, the home of the title character in the story Peter Pan; a place where children never grow up.

Other Idioms and Phrases with never-never land

never-never land

A fantasy land, an imaginary place, as in I don't know what's gotten into Marge—she's way off in never-never land. This expression gained currency when James Barrie used it in Peter Pan (1904) for the place where Peter and the Lost Boys live. However, in the second half of the 1800s Australians already were using it for vast unsettled areas of their continent (the outback), and there the term became popular through Mrs. Aeneas Gunn's We of the Never Never (1908). In Australia it still refers to northwest Queensland or northern Australia in general. Elsewhere it simply signifies a fantasy or daydream.