castle in the air
Impossible, impractical dream
A castle in the air is an impractical or fanciful plan, a dream unlikely to become reality.
The image is of something grand but built on nothing solid: Her scheme to open a restaurant was just a castle in the air.
Also *castle in the sky* or *castle in Spain*.
- pipe dreamUnrealistic aspiration
- pie in the skyUnrealistic hope or plan
- delusionStubbornly held false belief
- chimeraUnrealistic fantasy or hybrid
- wishful thinkingBelief shaped by desire
quixotism · mirage · reverie · impracticality · false hope · vain hope · fantasy · daydream · dream world · unattainability · fool's paradise · woolgathering · cloudland · unrealistic · blue sky thinking · utopia · ivory tower · bubble
- daydreamingdaydreaming, daydreams, fantasies, deep in thought, musings
- Precariousnessprecarious, unstable, teetering, tottering, wobbly
- wishful thinkingif only, what if, one day, fingers crossed, with any luck
- fantasiesdaydream, fantasy, dream, wishful thinking, illusion
- impracticalitiesimpracticality, pipe dream, pie in the sky, fool's errand, wild goose chase
- unattainablepipe dream, mirage, fantasy, utopia, chimera
practicality/groundedness
castle in the airfeet on the ground
Realistic and practical mindset
nuts and bolts · brass tacks · nitty-gritty · sure thing · calculated risk
castle, castles, castling, castlelike, castellated, in the air