Castles in the air
castles in the air
Extravagant hopes and plans that will never be carried out: “I told him he should stop building castles in the air and train for a sensible profession.”
Also, castles in Spain. Dreams about future success, as in Musing about the bestseller list, she was apt to build castles in the air. The first term dates from the late 1500s. The variant, castles in Spain (or chateaux en Espagne), was recorded in the Roman de la Rose in the 13th century and translated into English about 1365.
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- Castner
noun Hamilton Young. 1858–98, US chemist, who devised the Castner process for extracting sodium from sodium hydroxide Contemporary Examples castner acknowledges that, in the end, he reasoned his way to the right answer: no gun in the minivan. Guns are Dangerous, Even When Used by Good Men David Frum April 28, 2013 castner told Donvan […]
- Castoff
thrown away; rejected; discarded: castoff clothing. a person or thing that has been cast off. Printing. the estimate by a compositor of how many pages copy will occupy when set in type. Historical Examples Doubtless she would hail his wish—half a reform in itself—to castoff the outward signs of an accepted degradation. What Will He […]
- Castner process
noun a process for extracting sodium from sodium hydroxide, devised by Hamilton Young Castner (1858–98)
- Castor-and-pollux
twin sons of Leda and brothers of Helen, famous for their fraternal affection and regarded as the protectors of persons at sea. noun (classical myth) the twin sons of Leda: Pollux was fathered by Zeus, Castor by the mortal Tyndareus. After Castor’s death, Pollux spent half his days with his half-brother in Hades and half […]
- Castor-bean
the seed of the castor-oil plant. castor-oil plant. Historical Examples Horse mint and palm of crystal (castor-bean) and bullnettle root boiled together will make a cure fer swelling. Slave Narratives, Oklahoma Various Some genera like the castor-bean (Ricinus) and Croton are cultivated for their large, showy leaves. Elements of Structural and Systematic Botany Douglas Houghton […]