never-never land

English

Proper noun

never-never land

1. A fantastic or imaginary place.
   • 1863, George Smith with William Makepeace Thackeray, The Cornhill magazine‎^[1], volume 9, page 75:

     Morocco is the never-never land of Africa. Captious readers of the war news may, in their comfortable zeal, think the term applicable to other regions of ...

   • 1991 July 29, “Enter Sandman”, Kirk Hammett, James Hetfield, Lars Ulrich (music), performed by Metallica:

     Exit light / Enter night / Take my hand / We're off to never-never land

Usage notes

One is said to be "off in never-never land" when one is coming up with completely impractical ideas, distracted, etc. "Going to Never Never Land" can also mean going to sleep, or, more darkly, dying.

Compare also "the Never-Never" as a term referring to remoter parts of the Australian outback.

See also

• la-la land