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American origin. A ‘pipe dream’ is an unrealistic hope or fantasy. What's the origin of the phrase 'Pipe dream'? The phrase ‘pipe dream’ is an allusion to the dreams experienced by smokers of opium pipes. Opiates were widely used by the English literati in the 18th and 19th centuries.
Jun 17, 2017 · The term pipe dream denotes an unattainable or fanciful hope or scheme. Of American-English origin, it originally referred to the kind of visions experienced when smoking an opium pipe. This is clear from an early instance of pipe dream in an article about Rex Felix, the carnival king at the Mardi-Gras festival, published in the San Francisco ...
May 6, 2015 · Primarily taken as a tincture to remedy everyday ailments such as menstrual cramps, diarrhoea, wind, and piles, opium was also used recreationally in the 19 th century and has often been associated with Victorian writers.
Smoking opium through a pipe could induce vivid dreams and hallucinations, leading to the term “pipe dream.” Another theory suggests that it comes from the practice of sailors smoking tobacco pipes while daydreaming during long voyages at sea.
A pipe dream is an unattainable hope or fantasy and is first cited in America from the late 19th century. The allusion is to the delusions or euphoria induced by smoking an opium pipe.
4 mins. Yesterday we heard some history on the term "doping" in sports and today, language columnist Ben Zimmer explains where the term "pipe dream" comes from. Hallucinogenic Origins. The...
Feb 25, 2022 · A literal pipe dream is an opium-induced hallucination. The phrase is an Americanism that first appears in print on 11 December 1890, but co-locations of the two words can be found earlier describing literal opium-induced hallucinations.
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