Cloud Cuckoo Land

Watch this on YouTube here - Cloud Video - YouTube Video

Meaning:

Cloud Cuckoo Land is A state or realm of unrealistic and idealized fancy, beyond the realms of possibility, a mythical domain a utopia. Often said to “live in Cloud cuckoo land” or “to be in Cloud cuckoo land”

Examples:

“Her dreams are straight from cloud cuckoo land.”
“He's always got some harebrained schemes on how to make money, all of them right out of cloud-cuckoo land!”

Origin:

This is not an idiom that we use or hear that much today; Cloud-cuckoo-land was coined by the 4th century BC Greek playwright Aristophanes in the whimsical and extravagant play, The Birds

It talks about how the birds made a realm to separate the gods from humankind. It read:

Pisthetairos: All right then, what name shall we provide?
Chorus leader: Some name from around here - to do with clouds, with high places full of air, something really extra grand.
Pisthetairos: Well, then, how do you like this: Cloudcuckooland?

This play was translated to English in 1824, which is when cloud cuckoo land started to be used more frequently. The use of the phrase has always been used to express a land of make-believe or ideas that are not attainable. Like a city in the clouds.

Cloud Video - YouTube Video

Comments

Piece of Cake

Piece of Cake Watch this on YouTube here - Dessert Video - YouTube Video Meaning: Piece of Cake means A straightforward task that can easily be accomplished. An easy chore, A no-hassle task “Ahh, piece of cake.” Origin: There is another expression similar to this one that goes ‘as easy as pie.’ -But that's another video - Both sayings have identical meanings—they express ease, but why? It probably doesn’t have to do with the cooking part of these desserts, because baking a cake or pie requires a fair bit of work. First, you have to buy all of the ingredients. Then you have to make it by mixing all the necessary parts together. Then it has to be made up and put in the oven, and you wait for it to cook. Okay, it’s not exactly difficult, but I wouldn’t say it’s easy either. I am not so sure the origin of this idiom comes from the baking of the cake . However, eating the cake once it finishes cooking, now that is a different story that is way ...

Bad Egg

Bad Egg Watch this on YouTube here - Eggs Video - YouTube Video Meaning: Bad Egg is a disappointing or unpleasant person, someone who fails to meet expectations. “What a Bad Egg!” Origin: The Term Bad Egg has been around since the 1800s; back in the days before food standards were so high, it was necessary to check that you didn’t crack a bad egg in amongst the other ingredients. Cookbooks advised cracking eggs into a separate bowl to be sure. One bad egg could spoil it all, and the phrase was born; now, it refers to one bad person amongst all the other good ones, can spoil the mood. The phrase bad egg first appeared in print in the novel “Captain Priest” by Samuel A Hammett in 1855; it read: Some birds are said to carry brick-bats under their wings to sharpen their bills, and others, stones in maws to whet their appetites, but the Perfect Bird carries a brick in his hat and a stone in his boot. In the language of his class, the Perfect Bird generally turns out to be ...

The Wrong Side of the Tracks

The Wrong Side of the Tracks Watch this on YouTube here - Trains Video - YouTube Video Meaning: The Wrong Side of the Tracks means that someone comes from the poorer side of town, the part of town where people live who are considered of a lower social class. “Oh, There from the wrong side of the tracks.” Origin: The Wrong Side of the Tracks has been used since the second half of the 1800s. This idiom derives from the idea that railroads often ran through towns, separating the poorer side of town from the wealthier side; as mentioned by Thorne Smith in the Stray Lamb in 1929, it reads: “In most commuting towns, there are always two sides of which tracks serve as a demarcation. There is the right side and the wrong side. Translated into terms of modern American idealism, this means, the rich side and the side that hopes to be rich.” Example: Today, we still use this phrase to express that someone is from an area that sees hard times and that their life is not easy. An ...

Origins of Expressions

Search This Blog