pie in the sky

Register · Neutral Neutral — appropriate in most situations, both spoken and written, without sounding too casual or too stiff. CEFR B2

Post

Example

“Without a budget or timeline, their expansion plan was just pie in the sky.”

Dictionary details

Component words

pie sky

Tags

failure
risk

Expressions connected by reviewed component words or topic tags.

go up in smoke Neutral · CEFR B2

be completely ruined or fail, leaving nothing of the original plan

kiss of death Neutral · CEFR B2

something that seems helpful but instead causes eventual failure or ruin

can of worms Informal · CEFR B1

a complicated problem that causes trouble the moment it is touched

domino effect Neutral · CEFR B1

a chain reaction in which one event triggers a series of similar events

go downhill Neutral · CEFR B1

to become progressively worse in condition, quality, or performance

in broad daylight Neutral · CEFR B1

openly and where people can clearly see it, especially during the daytime

Source methodology

Meanings, register, CEFR, and examples come from the reviewed dictionary record. Expression notes may describe a reviewed present-day word picture or a background note; they are not presented as verified etymology.

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