American dream

the American Dream

1. The belief that anyone can succeed (often with an emphasis on material gain) through hard work. The American Dream feels less attainable the more I am crushed by student loans.
2. The achievement of wealth and success. After years of hard work, we finally have a big house and successful careers. We're living the American Dream.
See also: American, dream
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms.

American dream

the idealistic notion that Americans are preoccupied with obtaining certain materialistic goals. The American dream of home ownership, a car in the garage, and a chicken in every pot started in the early thirties.
See also: American, dream
McGraw-Hill Dictionary of American Idioms and Phrasal Verbs.

American dream, the

The image of prosperity, achievable through hard work. A political cliché invoked by candidates, it was used by Alexis de Tocqueville in Democracy in America (1835) but may be even older. In 1975 psychoanalyst David Abrahansen was quoted as saying, “The American dream is in part responsible for a great deal of crime and violence, because people feel that the country owes them not only a living but a good living.” A similar cliché of even less precise definition is the American way, evoking an image of democracy, fairness, and other desirable traits.
See also: American
The Dictionary of Clichés by Christine Ammer
See also:
  • American dream, the
  • the American Dream
  • crush it
  • credit for
  • credit for (something)
  • within arm's reach
  • be a credit to
  • be a credit to (someone or something)
  • in reach
  • play in the big leagues
References in periodicals archive
If this is the case, Rifkin argues, the American Dream will lose its appeal to the millions around the world still "yearning to be free."
Sweet dreams
In San Jose, Councilwoman Nora Campos organized a panel discussion focusing on the growing income gaps and the importance of local efforts to ensure access to the American dream.
More than 100 cities participate in dream campaign
A similarly sized improvementin Republican perceptions of the attainability of the American dream took place after President Donald Trump was elected.
Most Americans See American Dream as Achievable
"America first" might never shed the stain of virulent racism and anti-Semitism, but the American dream, she suggests, has a real and discernible meaning located in its origins, one that gives "voice to principled appeals for a more generous way of life."
The underside of the 'American dream'
The reason of being specific about American people is that they have an aim, inspiration and insight in form of American Dream. A Dream which illuminated and enlightened the American people of eighteenth and nineteenth centuries but in twentieth century it has been turned into flabby and slack interpretations of decaying American thought and spirit.
Differance, Erasure and Edward Albee's The American Dream (1961)
Martha Rosler: Of course, what Donald Trump was trying to say was that the American Dream depends on a kind of bellicose militarism.
Martha Rosler: The struggles of our time are against the toxic masculinity of men in power
Although the connections between Mayerson's chosen subjects weren't always immediately clear, the artist took pains to elaborate on the exhibition's unifying themes in a recent interview: "For me, ["My American Dream" is] about [my male partner] and I; we've been together twenty-six years and we got married the first Sunday you could in California....
Keith Mayerson: MUSEUM OF CONTEMPORARY ART
Some 18% say they are fully living the American Dream; 36% maintain they are living parts of it; 28% feel it is within reach; and 18% think it is completely unattainable.
OWN A HOME TO OWN THE AMERICAN DREAM
I think it is unfair to pick out the one number that does not really fit into the score - American Dream, purely because it is the one number that has the glamour and glitz usually associated with musicals.
Miss Saigon has more than one stand-out song; Get in touch - tell us what you think Email: letters@birminghammail.co.uk Twitter: @birminghammail Facebook: facebook.com/birminghammail Post: Birmingham Mail, Floor 6, Fort Dunlop, Fort Parkway, B24 9FF
Profane Parables: Film and the American Dream, Matthew S.
Profane Parables: Film and the American Dream
Synopsis: In "A Faltering American Dream: Excessive Accumulation of Money and Power Through the Federal Elections Market", economic researcher, scientist and academician, Robert W.
A Faltering American Dream
The Latino/a American Dream provides a fine set of essays by social scientists who explore the interactions, achievements, and obstacles of Latinos as they reach for the American dream, considering the economics, history, social challenges and perceptions of this dream and how it differs between recent Latino immigrants and those a few generations later.
The Latino/a American Dream
West Chester, PA, July 16, 2016 --(PR.com)-- On the heels of the country's July 4th celebration, PrimePay, LLC, announced the launch of its $30,000 American Dream Giveaway.
#PrimePay30: PrimePay Celebrates 30 Years with $30k American Dream Giveaway
In this study of American cultural and religion, the author examines the American dream as part of American civil religion.
Profane Parables: Film and the American Dream
Homeownership--the American dream. A vision created in the post-World War II boom, when returning military from the Greatest Generation began populating Levittowns and suburbs all over the country.
Changing perceptions of the American dream