pie in the sky

pie in the sky

noun
pie1 (def. 8).

Origin:
1910–15, Americanism
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
Cite This Source Link To pie in the sky

00:10

00:09

00:08

00:07

00:06

00:05

00:04

00:03

00:02

00:01

Pie in the sky is always a great word to know.
So is ort. Does it mean:
a scrap or morsel of food left at a meal.
a children's mummer's parade, as on the Fourth of July, with prizes for the best costumes.
American Heritage
Cultural Dictionary

pie in the sky definition


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 American Heritage® New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition
Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
Cite This Source
Slang Dictionary

pie in the sky definition


  1. n.
    a reward; a special heavenly reward. : If he didn't hope for some heavenly pie in the sky, he would probably be a real crook.
  2. mod.
    having to do with a hope for a special reward. (This is hyphenated before a nominal.) : Get rid of your pie-in-the-sky ideas!
Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions by Richard A. Spears.Fourth Edition.
Copyright 2007. Published by McGraw Hill.
Cite This Source
American Heritage
Idioms & Phrases

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® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer.
Copyright © 1997. Published by Houghton Mifflin.
Cite This Source
Dictionary.com, LLC. Copyright © 2012. All rights reserved.
  • Please Login or Sign Up to use the Recent Searches feature
FAVORITES
RECENT