Idiom Breakdown

castle in the air

//ˈkɑːs(ə)l ɪn ðiː ˈɛə/ / /ˈkæs(ə)l ɪn ði ˈɛəɹ//

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Definition

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.

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"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?"
"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."
"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."
"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); […]"
"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."
"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."

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