pie in the sky
/ˈpaɪ ɪn ðə ˈskaɪ/
Word Rarity
Uncommon
Frequency: Zipf frequency 4.08 in modern English
23
Scrabble Score
11
Letters
1
Syllables
9
Unique Chars
Meaning
noun
A fanciful notion; an unrealistic or ludicrous concept; the illusory promise of a desired outcome that is unlikely to happen.
Uncountable
adj
Example Sentences
- "Don't you think I have anything better to do than go scrambling around hundreds of square miles of the toughest wilderness in the state looking for pie in the sky?"
- "Old Hare Krishna got nothing on you / Just keep you crazy with nothing to do / Keep you occupied with pie in the sky"
- "[M]ost Americans are chronically materialistic and optimistic, more interested in short-range than long-range prospects, and have been for many generations. Pie on the table today or, at the latest, tomorrow—apple pie, mince pie, pecan pie, apricot pie, coconut cream pie, lemon meringue pie, peach cobbler pie, blueberry, blackberry, huckleberry, and pizza pie—that is what they want, not "pie in the sky," whether the source of that promise be Christianity or Marxism."
- "[…] I grew in the House Full of Practical People, so any grand, dream-chasing pursuit has always struck me as sort of pie in the sky."
- "Ah, I can hear the objectors say, all this is pie in the sky and too expensive. In fact, according to Lord Burns, "this is all perfectly feasible at a reasonable cost"."
- "After listening to descriptions of local grants between $500 and $50,000 (Montana got a total of $593,691 this year), he said the comparatively small contribution from the endowment could be replaced by a national organization that is privately run. His local critics questioned how that would work, and Jane Alexander, chairwoman of the endowment, scoffed at the idea. I think it's very pie in the sky, she said in a telephone interview."
Etymology
The phrase is originally from the song “The Preacher and the Slave” (1911) by Swedish-American labor activist and songwriter Joe Hill (1879–1915), which he wrote as a parody of the Salvation Army hymn “In the Sweet By-and-By” (published 1868). The song criticizes the Salvation Army for focusing on people’s salvation rather than on their material needs: : You will eat, bye and bye, : In that glorious land above the sky; : Work and pray, live on hay, : You’ll get pie in the sky when you die.
Regional Pronunciation
- American English: /ˈpaɪ ɪn ðə ˈskaɪ/
- British English: /ˈpaɪ ɪn ðə ˈskaɪ/
Usage
Inflected Forms
more pie in the sky (comparative)
most pie in the sky (superlative)