异想天开
- Literal
- strange thought, the sky opens
- Figurative
- To dream up wildly unrealistic ideas; usually said mockingly, though it can also praise a daring imagination.
Where does 异想天开 come from?
No origin story is known for it: the image explains itself through its parts. 异想 means "strange, out-of-the-ordinary thoughts," and 天开 is "the sky opening up," a picture of something that does not fit within the normal. Together they describe a notion so outlandish it seems to have dropped from another world. The set phrase already appears in 《镜花缘》, Li Ruzhen's Qing-dynasty novel. It is usually used with irony or reproach for someone proposing something impossible or unrealistic. Less often it sounds admiring, describing a bold, creative idea of the kind that looks crazy at first.
Source (出处): 李汝珍《镜花缘》
How is 异想天开 used? Two examples
- 女儿说想在阳台上养一匹马，真是异想天开。
My daughter says she wants to keep a horse on the balcony. What a wild idea!
- 只学一个月就想考过六级？别异想天开了。
Pass the level-six English exam after studying for just a month? Stop kidding yourself.
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