Idiom – Pie In The Sky

Pie In The Sky – Idiom of the Day

Meaning:

A joyous thought very unlikely to materialize.

History:

History dates back to the early 19th century, roughly in 1906 when it was used by Joe Hill in his song “The Preacher and the Slave”. There are also references to the idiom being used later in the 19th century, in the Harvard Bulletins in Education in 1926 and in the Infantry Journal in 1927, and in the The Fortnightly magazine in 1953. In recent times, the Daily Telegraph used it in 2016.

Idiom scenarios:

Scenario 1:

Friend 1: Tom’s younger son is minting money in his new business.
Friend 2: That’s good news! Tom always wanted to buy the pink bungalow near to his house. Now that his son is earning well, the bungalow will no longer be a pie in the sky for him.

Scenario 2:

Merchant: I want to expand my business.
Auditor: Glad about that!
Merchant: I want to purchase the vacant land at the end of this road.
Auditor: Oh! That costs a lot of money. Your expansion dreams will become a pie in the sky.

Scenario 3:

Friend 1: I want to study at Massachusetts university.
Friend 2: What are your scores?
Friend 1: Decent grades.
Friend 2: Decent grades? They want excellent grades. Massachusetts will only be a pie in the sky for you.

Examples:

Go through the examples to understand the usage of the idiom:

1. “Your idea of building the dam without bribing the politician will be a pie in the sky”.
2. “Your political promises are a pie in the sky”.
3. The boss’s plan of promoting the project will be a pie in the sky if he did not resolve the team’s internal conflicts.