[PW] Re: ? promise the moon and the stars?

[Bye, Dan J]

... and the Oxford Dictionary of Idioms has variations, such as "ask for the moon" or "cry for the moon".  It dates those to the 16th century.

An equivalent is "promise the earth".  Either way, it's unattainable.

Dan   

> -----Original Message-----
> From: project-wombat-bounces at lists.project-wombat.org 
> [mailto:project-wombat-bounces at lists.project-wombat.org] On 
> Behalf Of Tod Owens
> Sent: 21 November 2006 15:59
> To: list at project-wombat.org
> Subject: [PW] ? promise the moon and the stars?
> 
> Our patron wants to know the origin/first use of the phrase 
> "promise the moon and the stars." We've tried internet 
> searches, Brewster's Dictionary of Phrase and Fable, the 
> Oxford English Dictionary, and various slang dictionaries.
> 
> Thanks,
> Tod Owens
> Smyth-Bland Regional Library
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