pie in the sky

American  

noun

1. pie.

---

pie in the sky Cultural  

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

---

pie in the sky Idioms  

1. 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.”

---

Etymology

Origin of pie in the sky

An Americanism dating back to 1910–15

Example Sentences

But as in so many books of its kind, the menu of solutions consists mostly of pie in the sky.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 17, 2026

A lot of folks think that is pie in the sky.

From Barron's • Mar. 27, 2026

Mr Baxter believes the guidance will be helpful, even if the city having its own version of the Burj Khalifa remains a pie in the sky thought for now.

From BBC • Jun. 20, 2025

It may sound silly or pie in the sky, but Assemblyman Anthony Rendon, who started the committee, thinks lawmakers should be seriously pursuing how to increase happiness for Californians.

From New York Times • Mar. 25, 2024

Not that pie in the sky stuff, not a preference for optimism over pessimism, but rather “an orientation of the spirit.”

From "Just Mercy" by Bryan Stevenson