A: John is talking again about his business plans to start a cattle farm back in his hometown.

    B: Those plans of his to set up his own business are just a pie in the sky.

    Note: This idiom refers to something good that is unlikely to happen. This is an American phrase coined by Joe Hill in 1911. The phrase appeared first in Hill’s “The Preacher and the Slave,” which parodied the Salvation Army hymn “In the Sweet Bye and Bye.” The song, which criticized the army’s philosophy, specifically their concentration on the salvation of souls rather than the feeding of the hungry, was popular when first recorded and remained so for years. Around the Second World War, the phrase began to be used figuratively to refer to any prospect of future happiness which was unlikely to be realized.