Pie in the sky means an unrealistic dream: a plan or promise that sounds great but will never happen, like castles in the air. The image is simple: a pie hangs in the sky, but you can't reach it. People say it ironically about promises from politicians and bosses, or about their own overly bold dreams.
When would you say pie in the sky?
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be (just) pie in the sky; a pie-in-the-sky + idea/plan/promise
- Opening a café on a student budget sounded great, but it was pie in the sky.
- The mayor's promise to halve rents next year is just pie in the sky.
- My boss rejected the project as a pie-in-the-sky idea with no real budget.
What changed
First versionHis plan to retire at thirty-five is a pie in the sky.
RevisionHis plan to retire at thirty-five is pie in the sky.
After is, the idiom behaves like an uncountable noun: it's pie in the sky, with no article. Only a was removed. The article appears in one case: when the phrase comes before a noun as a description and is written with hyphens, as in a pie-in-the-sky plan. Then a belongs to plan.
Don't confuse it with have your head in the clouds, to be a dreamer out of touch with reality. Pie in the sky is about a plan or promise, while head in the clouds is about the dreamer: The plan is pie in the sky. He has his head in the clouds.
Your turn
A four-day week with the same salary sounds lovely, but with our budget it's just ___.
Show the answer
pie in the sky — With this budget, the plan can't happen, so it's pie in the sky. A piece of cake means “very easy”, but the speaker is explaining exactly why it won't work.
Write about a dream or promise that seems unrealistic to you. Say whose dream or promise it is and why it can't happen.
My cousin wants to become a famous actor within a year, but without any training that's pie in the sky.
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