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pie in the sky

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR pie in the sky ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

pie1(def 8).

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RELATED WORDS

Xanadu

Nearby words

  1. pidginize,
  2. pidyon haben,
  3. pie,
  4. pie cart,
  5. pie chart,
  6. pie-dog,
  7. pie-eyed,
  8. pie-faced,
  9. piebald,
  10. piebaldness

Origin of pie in the sky

An Americanism dating back to 1910–15
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Culture definitions for pie in the sky

pie in the sky

A preposterously optimistic goal: “The candidate says we can balance the budget by next year, but I think that's pie in the sky.”

The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Idioms and Phrases with pie in the sky

pie in the sky

An empty wish or promise, as in His dream of being hired as a sports editor proved to be pie in the sky. This expression was first recorded in 1911 in a rallying song of a union, the International Workers of the World (or “Wobblies”): “Work and pray, live on hay, you'll get pie in the sky when you die.”

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