yellow brick road

noun

A proverbial path to a Promised Land of one's hopes and dreams.

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Meanings

nounyellow brick road (plural yellow brick roads)

plural yellow brick roads · alternative yellow-brick road

  1. humorousidiomaticoftenA proverbial path to a Promised Land of one's hopes and dreams.

    But for Clinton the yellow brick road that led inevitably to the Democratic nomination has suddenly become a little bumpy.

    2007 December 21, “Hillary's mountain gets higher”, in The Sydney Morning Herald
    2 more examples

    But we're coming up on a bend in the yellow brick road, and going 'round it could cause the party lights to go dark quickly.

    2007 December 10, Morgan Housel, “The Impending Destruction of the U.S. Economy: Part 1”, in The Motley Fool

    Smash the emergency glass, press the big red button and just STOP. Step off the Yellow Brick Road, get mixed up with some flying monkeys and throw yourself into all manner of trouble. Trust me. IT'S YOUR LAST CHANCE.

    2011 August 19, Emma Kennedy, “Relax - a gap year's supposed to be fun”, in The Guardian

Origin

From the classic film The Wizard of Oz and the book series on which it was based. Originally the literal road to the Emerald City, which was paved with yellow bricks possibly to invoke the notion of gold.

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

yellow brick road. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/yellow%20brick%20road

MLA

“yellow brick road.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/yellow%20brick%20road. Accessed November 5, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “yellow brick road,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/yellow%20brick%20road.

Source: yellow brick road on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.