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REFERENCE

pipe dream

idiom
Meaning

A desire or idea which is unlikely to materialize, or a plan which is unlikely to work; a near impossibility.


Origin

disputed origin

From pipe + dream, referring to the fantasies experienced when smoking an opium pipe. Compare Old English pīpdrēam (“the sound or music of a pipe”), which is formed identically but has a different meaning.

Examples
SIMPLE

Buying a private island is just a pipe dream for me.

CONTEXTUAL

He wants to become a famous actor, but his parents think it is just a pipe dream.

COMPLEX

The young inventor spent years chasing what many critics dismissed as a mere pipe dream, yet his persistence eventually led to a breakthrough.

Anchors to
Related idioms8entries
  1. 01

    American Dream

    The ideal stressing egalitarianism and that every citizen of the United States should have an equal opportunity to achieve material prosperity through hard work, determination, and initiative.

  2. 02

    live the dream

    To experience the achievement of every success that one has aspired to achieve, especially from a career.

  3. 03

    pipe down

    To be quiet; to refrain from being noisy.

  4. 04

    pipe in

    To interrupt a conversation with a comment.

  5. 05

    pipe the eye

    To weep.

  6. 06

    put that in your pipe and smoke it

    Used after stating something surprising or undesired, in order to emphasize its truth.

  7. 07

    wet dream

    The orgasm in such a dream.

  8. 08

    work like a dream

    To function very efficiently and effectively, with few or no problems.

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