[ti:Is 'Pie in the Sky' Just a Dream?]
[al:Words and Their Stories]
[ar:VOA]
[dt:2024-10-06]
[by:www.voase.cn]
[00:08.00]And now, Words and Their Stories, from VOA Learning English.
[00:18.42]On this program, we explore words and expressions in the English language.
[00:24.71]We give examples, notes on usage, and sometimes, we use them in short conversations.
[00:33.77]Today we talk about the sweet dish at the end of a meal -- the dessert. 
[00:39.53]One of the most famous kinds of dessert is pie.
[00:45.67]With a buttery crust and sweet fillings like apple, berries, or banana cream, a well-made pie is a dreamy food, indeed.
[00:58.53]And that gives us the expression pie in the sky.
[01:04.33]Imagine a perfect pie coming down to you from the sky. 
[01:09.58]That is like a dream. And a pie in the sky is a dream, too.
[01:16.87]Anything described as pie-in-the-sky is fun to daydream about but is very unlikely to happen. 
[01:27.12]When we act in a pie-in-the-sky manner, we are being foolishly optimistic.
[01:35.96]Any industry or area of life can have pie-in-the-sky ideas.
[01:42.87]So, you can use this expression for different situations.
[01:47.61]In business, let's say a company has lost money for two straight years.
[01:55.44]But the company chief promised increased earnings in the coming year. 
[02:01.98]Her claims, as they say, were simply pie in the sky.
[02:07.09]She had no business plan or data to support them.
[02:12.48]An unpublished writer may have pie-in-the-sky dreams about her book being turned into a multi-million dollar film project.
[02:24.89]A teacher may have pie-in-the-sky wishes that all his students complete their homework on time.
[02:33.36]Pies in the sky are empty promises or empty wishes. 
[02:40.28]They are wishful thinking. 
[02:42.52]They are as unlikely as tasty pies falling from the sky.
[02:48.70]American English has another similar expression: pipe dream.
[02:54.98]The expression is also used to describe a plan, hope, or wish that is highly unlikely to happen.
[03:04.92]However, this expression does not come from a tasty bakery. 
[03:11.94]Word experts say it started in opium dens. 
[03:17.57]Here, people would smoke opium in long pipes and then fall into a dreamlike state where nothing seemed real.
[03:28.53]Now let's hear two friends using the expressions pipe dream and pie in the sky.
[03:36.68]A: Hey, did you hear about Sarah? She's moving to Spain!
[03:41.53]B: Really? Last week, she told me she was having trouble paying her rent.
[03:48.45]A: Well, she told me this morning that she's moving to Madrid to open a bakery.
[03:54.23]B: Sarah? Open a bakery? That sounds like a total pie in the sky to me. She can't even make toast.
[04:03.49]A: You know, it sounded like a pipe dream when she told me. She didn't have details. Just a lot of dreamy talk.
[04:11.81]B: Well, if she wants to turn her pie-in-the-sky bakery dream into a reality, I'd advise her to do one thing first - learn how to bake.
[04:25.66]And that's all the time we have for this Words and Their Stories. Until next time, I'm Anna Matteo.