Definitions
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- noun A
fanciful notion ;ludicrous concept; theillusory promise of a desired outcome that isunlikely to happen.
Etymologies
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License
1911, phrase originally in reference to the promises of religion taken from a song written by Joe Hill, "The Preacher and the Slave", a parody of the Salvation Army hymn "In the Sweet By and By". Hill was associated with the Industrial Workers of the World (commonly known as the Wobblies), who organized migrant laborers. When the workers returned to the cities, they faced the Salvation Army.
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Examples
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treeseed commented on the word pie in the sky
something good that is unlikely to happen
February 3, 2008
oroboros commented on the word pie in the sky
Comes from a song: "Joe Hill" (Joe Hill and the Preacher and the Slave).
October 24, 2010