wish away

wish away

To cause some problematic person, issue, or situation to disappear or become resolved simply by desiring it to happen or ignoring that it is a problem at all. A noun or pronoun can be used between "wish" and "away." Look, I know you want to wish away this problem with accounting, but if we don't deal with it now, we could be looking at criminal charges down the line. This generation just tries to wish away the challenges facing the planet by complaining on social media, without actually taking any meaningful action. I know your little brother can be irritating at time, but you can't just wish him away—he's family, and you need to look out for him!
See also: away, wish
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms.

wish someone or something away

to wish that someone or something would go away. You can't just wish him away. You'll have to ask him to leave! Don't try to wish away the difficulties of your life.
See also: away, wish
McGraw-Hill Dictionary of American Idioms and Phrasal Verbs.

wish away

v.
To eliminate some problem by merely desiring or pretending that it did not exist: They tried to wish away the war by gathering support without taking any action. Do you think you can wish your troubles away? Poverty cannot be wished away.
See also: away, wish
The American Heritage® Dictionary of Phrasal Verbs.
See also:
  • a can of worms
  • fan
  • open (up) a can of worms
  • open up a can of worms
  • bear with
  • bear with (someone or something)
  • bear with me
References in periodicals archive
The party can't remain silent and wish away the issue.
The Hudson Gateway Association of REALTORS (HGAR) is sponsoring a "Just a Wish Away" Cocktail Party to benefit Make-A-Wish Hudson Valley on Thursday, September 18, from 6 to 10 pm at the Clubhouse at Patriot Hills in Stony Point, NY.
WE don't want to wish away the last of the summer, but as autumn coats are hitting the high street, now is a good time to snap one up.
Since the Kingdom is totally dependant on expatriate communities for its development work involving millions of riyals, the government cannot tax, curtail or simply wish away outflow of money as long as it is dependent on foreign manpower.
11 Set the tone for sun Toning creams to wish away all your wobbly bits.
He added that India cannot wish away Pakistan, but added there could not be business with Pakistan in such a situation.
Brown accused eurozone leaders of seeking to "wish away" Spain's banking problems by providing only 100 billion euros of credit when their banks had two trillion euros of liabilities.
She quoted Mr Hain from during the referendum as saying: "As a democrat, I cannot wish away the fact that first-past-the-post is no longer fit for purpose."
"People in Ireland are basically scunnered with the main parties and are voting for alternatives, but no government in Ireland can wish away the economic situation or even reverse many of their spending cuts.
we so often wish away, wish gone like an old, cold embarrassment.
The arguments over abortion tend to wish away such choices; they're too hard.
As far as Pakistan's gradual slide towards instability and its ultimate ranking as the world's 5th most unstable country is concerned, independent observers will not probably wish away the role of Iskandar Mirza, Ayub Khan, Yahya Khan, Ziaul Haq and Pervez Musharraf in keeping the country in the American camp for more than half of its 63-year history of independence.
Time spent trying to suppress, change and wish away Twain's work is time wasted - and time better spent reading a great American author whose name and work will long outlast carping and small-minded critics.
It would help if Microsoft stopped trying to wish away this category of computer - but if it won t, there are good Linux developers that would gladly take its place.