over the hills and far away
- idiom
- Literature
:
más allá de las colinas
- As a child, he dreamed of going over the hills and far away to explore new lands.
Examples
-
After graduation, she set off over the hills and far away in search of new adventures.
-
The melody of the song carried her over the hills and far away in her imagination.
-
The children dreamed of going over the hills and far away.
-
He always wanted to travel over the hills and far away.
-
After graduation, she set off over the hills and far away in search of new adventures.
-
As a child, he dreamed of going over the hills and far away to explore new lands.
-
He always wanted to travel over the hills and far away to see what was out there.
Synonyms
∞
1.0
A place a short way away from here
241
1.0
At a great distance in space or time
45
4.2
Very far away in place or time
34
2.8
Far from here in place or time
22
8.8
At a great distance
15
6.7
In a place you cannot get to easily, often used in stories
10
8.2
Far from home or usual place, often when working away
10
6.1
Far from towns and not easy to reach
9
6.0
In a place most people do not visit
9
4.0
In a place far from towns and not often visited
5
7.6
A very remote place far from people with a dramatic view
4
4.5
A way of saying someone will go very far to help or find something
1
9.8
A place far from towns and people
1
9.1
At a place a short distance away that you can see
Extremely far away and hard to reach or get
Antonyms
How Far
- Informal
4
4.5
- Literature
26
1.0
178
3.2
44
1.0
325
1.0
∞
1.0
Surface Forms
Morphology
over + the + hill + and + far + away
The meaning 'to a distant or faraway place' is directly compositional from 'over' (across/beyond) + 'hills' (elevations) and 'far away' (distant), so a B1 learner who knows the constituents can infer the overall sense. Though the string is idiomatic/poetic in usage, its spatial-motion meaning follows normal English composition patterns and has clear cross-linguistic parallels, making it transparent.
Etymology
Over the hills and far away comes from the simple image of someone walking over the hills and going to the far away, leaving home behind. That's why it means 'to a distant place' or 'on an adventure'.