Did you know?
The phrase never-never land is linked to Peter Pan, although it did not originate with that creation of the Scottish playwright Sir James Matthew Barrie. In Barrie's original 1904 play, Peter befriends the real-world children of the Darling family and spirits them off for a visit to Never Land, where children can fly and never have to become adults. Then, in his 1908 sequel When Wendy Grew Up, Barrie changed the name to Never Never Land, and subsequent versions of the earlier play incorporated that change. People had been using never-never land for a place that was overly idealistic or romantic since at least 1900, but the influence of Peter Pan on the word's popularity and staying power cannot be discounted.
Synonyms
Examples of never-never land in a Sentence
Megan Farokhmanesh, WIRED, 12 Dec. 2023
Over the course of his career, Buffett earned their love by transforming himself into a kind of musical shaman who offered transport from the banalities of everyday life to the bounty of a never-never land of eternal sun, endless sandy beaches and bottomless boat drinks: Margaritaville.
—Drew M. Dalton, Fortune, 10 Sep. 2023
Pavelski was curling in from the left wing, outpaced his check, only to get clobbered to never-never land by Dumba.
—Kevin Paul Dupont, BostonGlobe.com, 22 Apr. 2023
For a disease that has languished in a kind of political never-never land for at least one human generation, leaving millions profoundly disabled, that is significant progress.
—Hillary Johnson, Discover Magazine, 20 July 2013
Last month, this prompted Fred Hiatt, the Washington Post's editorial page editor, to write that, On climate change, the GOP is lost in never-never land.
—Keith Kloor, Discover Magazine, 12 May 2011
Every chapter straddles the psychological never-never land between myth and science.
—Robert M. Thorson, WSJ, 4 Mar. 2022
Ownership of both is a must for the haves and a never-never land for the have-nots.
—Scott Burns, Dallas News, 9 Oct. 2020
Of course, this abject failure is nothing new in the never-never land of presidential debates.
—Washington Post, 24 Sep. 2020
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'never-never land.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Word History
1900, in the meaning defined above
Podcast
Theme music by Joshua Stamper ©2006 New Jerusalem Music/ASCAP
Get Word of the Day delivered to your inbox!
Dictionary Entries Near never-never land
Cite this Entry
“Never-never land.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/never-never%20land. Accessed 19 Apr. 2024.
Copy Citation
Share