building castles in the air
Imagining impossible futures
Building castles in the air is indulging in fanciful plans or daydreams with no realistic foundation.
The image is of constructing elaborate structures on nothing—impressive designs that can never be realized.
Someone building castles in the air is a dreamer disconnected from practical concerns: He talks about his startup like it's the next big thing, but he's just building castles in the air.
- pipe dreamUnrealistic aspiration
- daydreamingIdle mental wandering
- flight of fancyUnrealistic imaginative indulgence
- idealismBelief in noble principles
- wishful thinkingBelief shaped by desire
utopia · ivory tower · folly · impracticality · naivety · fantasy · cloud cuckoo land · envisioning · chimera · ideation · airy fairy · hopefulness · brainstorming · creativity · overambition · delusion · wild goose chase · overconfidence
building castles in the airpragmatism
Practical problem-solving philosophy
building castles in the airtaking action
Initiating purposeful effort
getting down to brass tacks · rolling up one's sleeves · walking the walk · getting one's hands dirty · buckling down
building, castle, builds, builder, builders, castles, castled, castling