castle in the air en · NOUN
Pronunciation
- /ˈkɑːs(ə)l ɪn ðiː ˈɛə/ (Received-Pronunciation)
- (Australia) audio
- /ˈkæs(ə)l ɪn ði ˈɛəɹ/ (General-American)
Meanings
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(idiomatic) A desire, idea, or plan that is unlikely to ever be realized; a visionary project or scheme; a daydream, an idle fancy, a near impossibility.
Her unlimited devotion for "the family," readily induced the old lady to acquiesce in his proposal, though not without a gentle sigh over the ruins of a castle in the air, which was founded on the well-saved purse of Mistress Deborah Debbitch.
1822, [Walter Scott], chapter III, in Peveril of the Peak. […], volume III, Edinburgh: […] Archibald Constable and Co.; London: Hurst, Robinson, and Co., →OCLC, page 70:Many times ſuch men when they come to themſelves, tell ſtrange things of Heauen and Hell, what viſions they haue ſeene; […] The like effects almost are to bee ſeene in ſuch as are awake: How many Chimæras, Anticks, golden mountaines, and Caſtles in the Aire doe they build vnto themſelves?
1624, Democritus Junior [pseudonym; Robert Burton], “Of the Force of Imagination”, in The Anatomy of Melancholy: […], 2nd edition, Oxford, Oxfordshire: […] John Lichfield and James Short, for Henry Cripps, →OCLC, partition 1, section 2, member 3, subsection 2, page 81:We used to build castles in the air. We had big dreams. I'm not sure if you still have those dreams, but I still have dreams.
2013 December 18, Kenneth Khulekani Khoza, Castles in the Air, [Bloomington, Ind.]: Xlibris, →ISBN, act I, scene i, page 21:Look you, Amanda, you may build castles in the air, "and fume, and fret, and grow thin and lean, and pale and ugly, if you please." But I tell you, no man worth having is true to his wife, or can be true to his wife, or ever was, or will be so.
1696, John Vanbrugh, The Relapse; or, Virtue in Danger. […] (Bell’s British Theatre; XXVI), London: Printed for the proprietors, under the Direction of John Bell, […], published 1795, →OCLC, act III, scene ii, page 72:If you have built castles in the air, your work need not be lost; that is where they should be. Now put the foundations under them.
1854 August 9, Henry D[avid] Thoreau, “Conclusion”, in Walden; or, Life in the Woods, Boston, Mass.: Ticknor and Fields, →OCLC, page 346:She had a vivid imagination; […] and it is a fact, that while she was dressing for dinner, and after she had asked Amelia whether her brother was very rich, she had built for herself a most magnificent castle in the air, of which she was mistress, with a husband somewhere in the background (she had not seen him as yet, and his figure would not therefore be very distinct); […]
1847 January – 1848 July, William Makepeace Thackeray, “Rebecca is in Presence of the Enemy”, in Vanity Fair […], London: Bradbury and Evans […], published 1848, →OCLC, page 18:
Forms
| Spelling | Features | Labels | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| castles in the air | Number=Plur | lexicographic |
Antonyms
Coordinates
terra incognita · uncharted water · uncharted territory
Deriveds
build castles in the air · build air castles
Relateds
on cloud seven · head in the clouds · on cloud nine
Synonyms
castle in the skies · eggs in moonshine · air castle · pie in the sky · pipe dream · castles in Spain · jam tomorrow
Translations (32)
eo ĥimero (desire, idea, or plan unlikely to ever be realized) · ru возду́шный за́мок (desire, idea, or plan unlikely to ever be realized) · sq kështjella në erë (desire, idea, or plan unlikely to ever be realized) · sq ëndrra në diell (desire, idea, or plan unlikely to ever be realized) · pt castelo no ar (desire, idea, or plan unlikely to ever be realized) · is loftkastali (desire, idea, or plan unlikely to ever be realized) · de Traumschloss (desire, idea, or plan unlikely to ever be realized) · eo aerkastelo (desire, idea, or plan unlikely to ever be realized) · fi pilvilinna (desire, idea, or plan unlikely to ever be realized) · he מִגְדָּל פּוֹרֵחַ בָּאֲוִיר (desire, idea, or plan unlikely to ever be realized) · nn luftslott (desire, idea, or plan unlikely to ever be realized) · es castillos de naipes (desire, idea, or plan unlikely to ever be realized) · sh kule u zraku (desire, idea, or plan unlikely to ever be realized) · ca castells en l'aire (desire, idea, or plan unlikely to ever be realized) · pl marzenie ściętej głowy (desire, idea, or plan unlikely to ever be realized) · mi waitara (desire, idea, or plan unlikely to ever be realized) · pt castelo de vento (desire, idea, or plan unlikely to ever be realized) · cmn 空中樓閣 /空中楼阁 (desire, idea, or plan unlikely to ever be realized) · fi tuulentupa (desire, idea, or plan unlikely to ever be realized) · sh куле у зраку (desire, idea, or plan unlikely to ever be realized) · sv luftslott (desire, idea, or plan unlikely to ever be realized) · fr châteaux en Espagne (desire, idea, or plan unlikely to ever be realized) · hu légvár (desire, idea, or plan unlikely to ever be realized) · de Luftschloss (desire, idea, or plan unlikely to ever be realized) · es castillos en el aire (desire, idea, or plan unlikely to ever be realized) · nb luftslott (desire, idea, or plan unlikely to ever be realized) · fo skýborg (desire, idea, or plan unlikely to ever be realized) · fo harraborg (desire, idea, or plan unlikely to ever be realized) · nl luchtkasteel (desire, idea, or plan unlikely to ever be realized) · da luftkastel (desire, idea, or plan unlikely to ever be realized) · cs vzdušné zámky (desire, idea, or plan unlikely to ever be realized) · gl castelos no ar (desire, idea, or plan unlikely to ever be realized)