crossing the moat
- idiom
- Informal
:
superar el obstáculo
- Starting my own business felt like crossing the moat, but I was determined to succeed.
Examples
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Every applicant knows that passing the final interview is like crossing the moat to get the job.
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He is crossing the moat to reach his goals.
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Whenever I face a big challenge, I remind myself that others have managed crossing the moat before me.
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The team is crossing the moat this year with their new project.
-
Every applicant knows that passing the final interview is like crossing the moat to get the job.
-
Starting my own business felt like crossing the moat, but I was determined to succeed.
-
Whenever I face a big challenge, I remind myself that others have managed crossing the moat before me.
Synonyms
45
4.2
To overcome a difficulty after many tries and succeed
5
3.9
Deal with a difficult problem or situation
To deal with difficult situations calmly and successfully
Antonyms
How Challenging
- Informal
1
5.2
- Informal
5
3.9
148
3.6
Surface Forms
Morphology
The literal components 'cross' (to go from one side to another) and 'moat' (a defensive water-filled ditch) transparently suggest overcoming a physical barrier, so the metaphorical sense of overcoming a major obstacle is readily inferable. However, the idiomatic use as a figurative challenge requires a metaphorical mapping beyond the literal meaning and may not be fully predictable for all B1 learners without contextual cues, so it is only partially transparent.
Etymology
Crossing the moat comes from the image of crossing the deep water around a castle—the moat—a hard, risky step to reach the gate. So it means 'facing a big challenge' or 'overcoming a major obstacle' because getting past that barrier was difficult.