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Glite Dictionary
to promise the moon

to promise the moon

1 6.8
Tell someone you will do something very big although you cannot do it
  • idiom
  • Informal
translation icon : prometer la luna
  • This is of great benefit to politicians as they can promise the moon and stars above to anyone, securing their power through "democracy."

Examples

  • She tends to promise the moon to her friends, even though she knows she can't help them all.

  • Politicians often promise the moon during election campaigns, hoping to win votes without any real plan.

  • They promise the moon

    Blazing Saddles (1974)

  • He is overpowering; he is wily; he often promises the moon.

    Blog text (2)

  • Dalton represents Obama on the state level; promise the moon, sound centrist, but deliver a wickless.

    Blog text (22)

  • For crying out loud, we can't have the first minority president, who promises the moon but is inept economically, to only have one term.

    Blog text (19)

  • Our democracy is now the longest-lasting one in history, but it is coming apart at the wallet because politicians promise the moon and then deliver the bill to our kids and grandkids.

    Blog text (29)

  • When he said he could fix all the country's problems overnight, I knew he was just promising the moon.

Synonyms

to overpromise
vsto promise the moon
4 5.0

Say you will do more than you can really do

is more grandiose and often shows no real intention to deliver
to overcommit
vsto promise the moon
1 6.1

Agreeing to do more work or tasks than you can handle

focuses on grand claims rather than taking on excessive tasks
to write checks you can't cash
vsto promise the moon
  • Informal
1 9.5

To promise something you cannot do

tends to be exaggerated and may lack means or intent to fulfil

How Extravagant

to promise the moon
  • Informal
1 6.8
to promise
∞ 1.0
to assure
198 3.5

Surface Forms

promise infinitive
promised the moon past
promised the moon past participle
promising the moon present participle
promises the moon third person singular

Morphology

promise + the + moon

The meaning is motivated by the literal constituents: 'promise' (to declare intention) plus 'moon' (a distant, grand object) yields a hyperbolic sense of promising something extravagant, so a learner who knows the words can often infer the intended exaggeration. However, the sense is metaphorical and culturally conventional (similar to 'promise the world'), not strictly compositional, so it is not fully predictable without some exposure.

Etymology

The idiom promise the moon comes from the clear image of someone saying they can give you the moon, something obviously impossible. So it means to make 'unrealistic' or very large promises, often without any real plan to keep them.