wishful thinking

noun

interpretation of facts, actions, words, etc., as one would like them to be rather than as they really are; imagining as actual what is not.

Origin:
1925–30

Related forms

wishful thinker, noun

Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
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Wishful thinking is always a great word to know.

So is doohickey. Does it mean:

a gadget; dingus; thingumbob.

an extraordinary or unusual thing, person, or event; an exceptional example or instance.

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Collins

World English Dictionary

wishful thinking

—n
	the erroneous belief that one's wishes are in accordance with reality

wishful thinker

—n

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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American Heritage

Idioms & Phrases

wishful thinking

Interpreting matters as one would like them to be, as opposed to what they really are. For example, Matthew wanted to be a basketball player, but with his height that was wishful thinking. This term comes from Freudian psychology of the mid-1920s and soon began to be used more loosely.

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Matching Quote

"The fairytale is irresponsible; it is frankly imaginary, and its purpose is to gratify wishes, "as a dream doth flatter." It heroes and heroines, though of delightfully high station, wealth, beauty, etc., are simply individuals; "certain prince," "a lovely princess." The end of the story is always satisfying, though by no means always moral; the hero's heroism may be slyness or luck quite as readily as integrity or valor. The theme is generally the triumph of an unfortunate one—an enchanted maiden, a youngest son, a poor Cinderella, an alleged fool—over his or her superiors.... In short, the fairytale is a form of "wishful thinking," and the Freudian analysis of it fully explains why it is perennially attractive, yet never believed by adults even in the telling. Myth, on the other hand, whether literally believed or not, is taken with religious seriousness, either as a historic fact or as a "mystic" truth. Its typical theme is tragic, not utopian; and its personages tend to fuse into stable personalities of supernatural character."

-Susanne K. Langer