pie in the sky
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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. 2018
Related Words
Xanadupie 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.”
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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.”
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The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.