promise the moon

English

Verb

promise the moon (third-person singular simple present promises the moon, present participle promising the moon, simple past and past participle promised the moon)

1. (informal, figuratively) To make promises that are impossible to fulfill.

   Synonyms: promise the earth, promise the stars, promise the world

Translations

Translations

• Czech: slibovat modré z nebe impf, naslibovat modré z nebe pf
• Dutch: loze beloftes doen
• Finnish: luvata kuu taivaalta
• French: promettre monts et merveilles (fr), promettre la lune (fr)
• Polish: obiecywać złote góry impf, obiecać złote góry pf, obiecywać gruszki na wierzbie (pl) impf
• Portuguese: prometer mundos e fundos
• Russian: сули́ть луну́ (sulítʹ lunú)

See also

• ask for the moon
• moon on a stick
• reach for the moon

References

• “promise somebody the moon the earth” in Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English, Longman.
• “promise someone the moon earth” (US) / “promise someone the moon earth” (UK) in Macmillan English Dictionary.
• “promise sb the earth moon”, in Cambridge English Dictionary, Cambridge, Cambridgeshire: Cambridge University Press, 1999–present.
• “promise the moon”, in Lexico, Dictionary.com; Oxford University Press, 2019–2022.