View synonyms for

pie in the sky

noun

pie.

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.”

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Word History and Origins

Origin of pie in the sky¹

An Americanism dating back to 1910–15

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Idioms and Phrases

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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Example Sentences

Examples have not been reviewed.

Speed's comments feel like pie in the sky, yet China never had a world snooker champion until this year.

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"For ministers to say 'we expect them to do their duty, to do things properly' is just pie in the sky."

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I’m not in any way “pie in the sky” about these realities, but I also recognize and actually trust in a belief that sometimes good things happen in ways that feel predetermined and fateful.

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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.

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“It was almost kind of a pie in the sky that he would be who he is,” Rivera said.

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