dash (one's) hopes

dash (one's) hopes

To undercut one's dreams or optimistic views. I became a lawyer after my parents dashed my hopes of being an artist.

See also: dash, hope

dash someone's hopes

Fig. to ruin someone's hopes; to put an end to someone's dreams or aspirations. Mary dashed my hopes when she said she wouldn't marry me.

See also: dash, hope

dash someone's hopes

Destroy someone's plans, disappoint or disillusion. For example, That fall dashed her hopes of a gold medal. This term uses dash in the sense of "destroy," a usage surviving only in this idiom. [Second half of 1500s]

See also: dash, hope

dash/shatter somebody’s ˈhopes

destroy somebody’s hopes of doing or getting something: Any hopes that the museum would be built this year were dashed yesterday when the council announced its plans to spend less money on the arts. ♢ His poor performance in the exam shattered his hopes of becoming a lawyer.

See also: dash, hope, shatter