Idiom of the Day - Pie in the Sky

 

 

You’ve come up with what you think is a great idea or plan. It could be anything, but let’s imagine you are at work, and after your presentation, you are given a note that the boss wants to see you. As you head to his office, you think that it must be good news. 

A positive response.

A few minutes later, you receive the most sceptical or derisive response imaginable.

“It was fine, but don’t you think that it was, a little, pie in the sky?”

To let you down gently, the boss might suggest that while it sounds appealing, your plan rests on unrealistic assumptions or unlikely future events.

Or, you are a writer that has just spent six months writing a book, only to be told it is unrealistic, “pie in the sky”. I think most publishers would probably let down the writer more gently than that.

Origins and History

“Pie in the sky” is an English idiom meaning a promise of good things that are unlikely to be realised.

It can be traced back to the early 20th century when the US labourer, activist, and writer Joe Hill wrote the song “The Preacher and the Slave” (1911). It was a parody of the hymn “In the Sweet By-and-By” and was meant as a criticism of religious leaders who encouraged workers to accept suffering now for heavenly rewards later.

The song included the lines:

“But there’ll be pie in the sky by and by when I die…”

Hill’s use linked the idea of a comforting but empty promise, that of spiritual consolation for material hardship, to the phrase “pie in the sky”.

From there, the expression entered broader political and everyday speech in both the U.S.A. and Britain. Critics of ungrounded reform proposals, utopian schemes, or empty political rhetoric would use it to show that proposals or plans seemed far-fetched.

Over the 20th century the phrase became a more general idiom for any impractical promise.

It could be used to critique plans. “Their budget relies on pie-in-the-sky revenue projections.” Or to put down a proposal. “A pie-in-the-sky energy plan won’t solve short-term shortages or prices going up.” And how often have we heard, “Voters were warned not to fall for pie-in-the-sky campaign pledges”?

Idiom of the Day - Burning the Midnight Oil

 

Have you ever said, or heard, the words, “…last night I was burning the midnight oil”?

Burning the midnight oil, or to burn the midnight oil, means to work late into the night. It involves doing something that requires effort, concentration, and often a deadline that can’t be missed.

Imagine the scene.

Picture someone bent over a desk long after the rest of the household has gone to bed. The laptop is open, a clock ticking away into the night. It’s late, and you are determined to finish what you started, maybe hours before. So determined it outweighs the fatigue that is beginning to make you sleepy. It is something I have done; the hours seem to fly by once you convince yourself that you are nearly there and the end is in sight.

It might be a work project. The student might have an essay to write, or an exam approaching. If you are a writer, it is typically an article, story, or chapter that you want to finish. Whether it’s for work, studying, or writing, the decision to keep going late into the night suggests an important task. 

Something that you want to see finished.

The determination needed can lead to admiration. “She’s been burning the midnight oil to finish her novel.”

Or a little concern. “You can’t keep burning the midnight oil every night. It’s not good for you.”

And burning the midnight oil can take its toll as the hours tick by. That advice telling you of the importance of getting eight hours of sleep is regularly put to one side. You look at the clock, and it’s two in the morning, and yet you know that you have to be at work by nine.

You will be lucky to get five hours’ sleep.

It speaks of dedication.

Where Did It Come From?

It’s a phrase that dates back before electricity provided light for our home and office. It was a time when candles or oil lamps were the only way to see after dark. They quite literally had to burn oil to see what they were doing.

Idiom of the Day (but not every day) Back to the Drawing Board

 

We have all been there. You try something new. You plan it carefully and put in all the effort. And then it fails.

So, it’s back to the drawing board.

My mother might have been an idiom expert. She would use them all the time in everyday conversation. I think many of us, of a certain generation, do just that.

After something went wrong, I would often hear her say. “Well, it’s back to the drawing board then.”

When I was very young, I might wonder where or what this “drawing board” was. Whatever it was, we didn’t have one.

It’s a familiar idiom that is used when a plan hasn’t worked out as expected. It means we must start again from scratch. It carries a sense of disappointment with it, but it suggests not giving up. Time to have a rethink and try again.