Pipe dream
Meaning
An unrealistic, unattainable, or impossible hope, plan, or fantasy.
Origin
The vivid phrase 'pipe dream' emerged in 19th-century America, directly referencing the hallucinatory visions experienced by those smoking opium. Opium, often consumed through a long pipe, was renowned for its ability to induce intensely vivid, yet utterly unreal and fleeting, fantasies. These drug-induced reveries were a powerful metaphor for any plan or hope that was similarly disconnected from reality, unattainable, and destined to evaporate upon sober reflection. The term quickly transcended its literal drug-related origins to describe any wildly optimistic and impractical aspiration.
Examples
- His ambition to become a billionaire by investing only pennies was widely regarded as a complete pipe dream.
- She admitted that her desire to travel the world for free was probably just a pipe dream, but she still loved to imagine it.