the moon on a stick

English

WOTD – 16 April 2021

Etymology

The term describes something that is impossible to obtain.

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ˈmuːn ɒn ə ˈstɪk/
• (General American) IPA^(key): /ˈmun ɑn ə ˈstɪk/

• Audio (General Australian):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ɪk

Noun

the moon on a stick

1. (chiefly US, hyperbolic, idiomatic) All that one could desire, especially as an unreasonable demand; everything.
   • 2002, Donald Clarke, Billie Holiday: Wishing on the Moon:

     Once I saved twenty-five dollars and bought her a print gown for her birthday, and she was so pleased you'd have thought I'd given her the moon on a stick.

   • 2002, Martin Parker, Utopia and Organization:

     There is no point in asking for the moon on a stick, but we can produce cheap sticks through a sensible division of labour and sell them with effective market segmentation strategies. Leave the moon for dreamers.

   • 2006, Stella Hyde, Tonwen Jones, Snarling Tiger, Dirty Rat:

     You promise partners the moon on a stick, so that you can snatch it back easily when you change your mind.

   • 2007, Pamela Cotterill, Sue Jackson, Gayle Letherby, Challenges and Negotiations for Women in Higher Education:

     What more do I want—the moon on a stick of course.

Related terms

• ask for the moon
• promise the moon

Translations

all that one could desire, especially as an unreasonable demand — see also everything

• Finnish: kuu taivaalta
• Polish: gwiazdka z nieba (pl) f
• Russian: луна́ с не́ба f (luná s néba)

Further reading

• Colin McIntosh, editor (2013), “the moon on a stick”, in Cambridge Advanced Learner’s Dictionary, 4th edition, Cambridge, Cambridgeshire: Cambridge University Press, →ISBN, reproduced in the Cambridge English Dictionary website, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.