promise the moon

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

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

• “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.