la-la land

noun

ˈlä-ˌlä- 

1

: a euphoric, dreamlike mental state detached from the harsher realities of life

When you spend time around [him] you are struck by someone who isn't living in la-la land and isn't a pushover.

—Todd Balf

2

La-La Land

—used as a nickname for Los Angeles, California

Like most devoted New Yorkers who find themselves in La-La Land, the author goes through at least half of the five stages of grief.

—Alexandra Jacobs

Examples of la-la land in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Woodstock With its flawless brick-front shops and whitewashed historic homes, Woodstock is la-la land Vermont. —Meg Lukens Noonan, Outside Online, 26 Sep. 2024

As with any sci-fi technology, opportunists are spinning them out into la-la land; not quite mainstream or even there yet today, but truly necessary, some say, to a fantasy future anyone has yet to pin down. —Cecilia D'anastasio, Wired, 12 Nov. 2021

Judging from a few recent news stories, slices of the not-for-profit art world in New York seem stuck in la-la land. —Brian T. Allen, National Review, 11 Apr. 2020

Many of the investors were Hoosiers in Hollywood, midlife businessmen from boring industries in the Corn Belt heeding la-la land’s age-old siren call. —Benjamin Wallace, HWD, 1 May 2017

Stop beating yourself up for drifting off to la-la land. —Tori Rodriguez, Woman's Day, 3 Aug. 2016

Word History

Etymology

perhaps from la-la nonsense syllables in the refrains of songs

First Known Use

1979, in the meaning defined at sense 1