pipe dream


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pipe dream

n.
A fantastic notion or vain hope.

[From the fantasies induced by smoking a pipe of opium.]
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

pipe dream

n
a fanciful or impossible plan or hope
[alluding to dreams produced by smoking an opium pipe]
Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

pipe′ dream`


n.
a fanciful or unrealistic notion, hope, or plan.
Random House Kernerman Webster's College Dictionary, © 2010 K Dictionaries Ltd. Copyright 2005, 1997, 1991 by Random House, Inc. All rights reserved.

pipe dream

- Originated with opium smoking.
See also related terms for smoking.
Farlex Trivia Dictionary. © 2012 Farlex, Inc. All rights reserved.
ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:
Noun1.pipe dream - a fantastic but vain hope (from fantasies induced by the opium pipe)pipe dream - a fantastic but vain hope (from fantasies induced by the opium pipe); "I have this pipe dream about being emperor of the universe"
fantasy, phantasy - imagination unrestricted by reality; "a schoolgirl fantasy"
Based on WordNet 3.0, Farlex clipart collection. © 2003-2012 Princeton University, Farlex Inc.

pipe dream

noun daydream, dream, notion, fantasy, delusion, vagary, reverie, chimera, castle in the air The plan is nothing more than a pipe dream.
Collins Thesaurus of the English Language – Complete and Unabridged 2nd Edition. 2002 © HarperCollins Publishers 1995, 2002

pipe dream

noun
A fantastic, impracticable plan or desire:
The American Heritage® Roget's Thesaurus. Copyright © 2013, 2014 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
Translations
أوْهام، تَخَيُّلات
vidina
ønskedrøm
draumórar
düşhayâl

pipe dream

nsogno impossibile
Collins Italian Dictionary 1st Edition © HarperCollins Publishers 1995

pipe

(paip) noun
1. a tube, usually made of metal, earthenware etc, through which water, gas etc can flow. a water pipe; a drainpipe.
2. a small tube with a bowl at one end, in which tobacco is smoked. He smokes a pipe; (also adjective) pipe tobacco.
3. a musical instrument consisting of a hollow wooden, metal etc tube through which the player blows or causes air to be blown in order to make a sound. He played a tune on a bamboo pipe; an organ pipe.
verb
1. to convey gas, water etc by a pipe. Water is piped to the town from the reservoir.
2. to play (music) on a pipe or pipes. He piped a tune.
3. to speak in a high voice, make a high-pitched sound. `Hallo,' the little girl piped.
ˈpiper noun
a person who plays a pipe or pipes, especially the bagpipes.
pipes noun plural
bagpipes or some similar instrument. He plays the pipes.
ˈpiping noun
1. the act of playing a musical pipe or pipes.
2. (the act or process of conveying water, gas etc by means of) a length of pipe or number of pipes. lead piping; Piping the oil ashore will not be easy.
adjective
(of a sound) high-pitched. a piping voice.
pipe dream
an idea which can only be imagined, and which would be impossible to carry out. For most people a journey round the world is only a pipe dream.
ˈpipeline noun
a long line of pipes used for conveying oil, gas, water etc. an oil pipeline across the desert.
piping hot
very hot. piping hot soup.
Kernerman English Multilingual Dictionary © 2006-2013 K Dictionaries Ltd.
References in classic literature ?
I slept sometimes and had pipe dreams about being out chasing cats into basements and growling at old ladies with black mittens, as a dog was intended to do.
He added: "It would have been a pipe dream 10 years ago but now computers are faster and memory is a lot cheaper to buy."
On Sunday the 4.9-mile Pipe Dream fell-race starts at Dolgarrog and involves 1,700 feet of climbing.
A campaigner for better health services fears a promised new hospital remains a pipe dream.
In sum most in the telematics "industry" are chasing a pipe dream. No mass market is about to open up.
They must redouble their efforts to find an agreement on police reforms and demilitarisation otherwise a lasting, sustainable peace founded on trust and respect will be only but a pipe dream.
Hep-Cats, Narcs and Pipe Dream, a popular history of illicit drug use, trafficking, and regulation in 20th-century America, is just one of this summer's additions to the drug policy bookshelf.
"I believe some research should be supported, but general population protection is a pipe dream,' a respondent wrote.
This may be a pipe dream given Mr Shepherd's reluctance to sell, but the desire to retain such a beautiful building as a place of teaching is, of course, to be applauded.
The latest figures prove going it alone would be a massive risk and Alex Salmond's dream of turning our oil cash into a tidy nest egg are no more than a pipe dream.
Furthermore, could Leslie and Patricia Larsen enlighten us on how the Welsh nationalists intend to pay for their pipe dream of nationhood?