LUNAR LORE

To The Moon And Back: The Stories Behind 10 Sayings Involving The Moon

Image: Mark Tegethoff

Romance, delusions, and time measurements. All of these loom behind the idioms involving the Earth’s natural satellite. The moon has been a source of inspiration for poems, stories, and songs since ancestral times, its image recurring in our language as a symbol of beauty, grandeur, and ambition. Why have we attributed so many different meanings to it? In this article, we’ll explore some well-known and some more obscure idioms involving the moon, shedding light on how they came to be and why they have persisted.

Image: Kiel Salazar

We all know that this phrase is used to describe events that happen very rarely. But what is a "Blue Moon"? Nowadays, we use the term to refer to the second full moon that we can see within a calendar month. Since moon cycles last about 29.5 days and months last around 30, it is unusual for a month to include two full moons. According to NASA, this phenomenon occurs once every two to three years.

The line was first used metaphorically in 1821, in Pierce Egan’s play called Real Life in London. However, this first use might have been referring to the more literal phenomenon of the moon appearing visibly blue because of atmospheric events, like fires or volcanic emissions.

Image: Javier Allegue Barros

If some of these idioms sound like they belong in an illustrated nursery book, it’s because they do. Describing someone in a state of delight as being "over the moon" began in the nursery rhyme "Hey Diddle Diddle," which first appeared in records in the 16th century.

The rhyme’s brief lyrics are cryptic, and historians can’t agree on their meaning. But the image it features of a cow jumping over the moon was memorable enough to give birth to the idiom. It became widespread in the 20th century, often used in British English to express giddy happiness or joy.

Image: Rakicevic Nenad

It is unclear how or when this expression originated. But we know it gained popularity in the mid-20th century, that is, during the space race era. Some believe that the saying gained momentum after the successful Apollo moon landings, as it served as a motivational slogan. The phrase is used to encourage others to accomplish great things, or to describe someone's ambition of "reaching for the moon."

A sibling expression is "shoot the moon," or "hit the moon," which refers to achieving a challenging feat. In card games, "shooting the moon" describes strategies by which players aim for high or low scores.

Image: spoot

Beware of someone who promises you the moon, be it a partner, a salesman, or a politician. The expression serves as an accusation of a charlatan or a liar pledging to accomplish extravagant or impossible acts. The use of the line dates back to at least the early 20th century, when, again, influenced by the space race, many began fantasizing about reaching the moon, exploring it, and harnessing it. Alternatives to this saying are "promising the Earth," "the world," or "the stars," each one as unattainable as the last one.

Image: Mark Zamora

This one too originated in children’s literature. Born from the habit of competing for hyperbolic measurements to express the size of one’s love. "I love you to (name of a far-off place)" was already a popular construction before Sam McBratney’s book solidified this particular line.

Guess How Much I Love You was published in 1994. In it, a little hare and his parent take turns stretching their arms wider and wider to show their love for each other. Eventually, the distances start measuring from "I love you all the way down the lane as far as the river" to the little hare’s "I love you right up to the moon." After he falls asleep, the parent whispers, "I love you right up to the moon… and back."

Image: Brody Childs

The expression might be old-fashioned or theatrical, but we all understand it. As a synonym for a "long time ago," it can either refer to a daily moon or moon cycles. In either case, the expression is usually chosen to dramatically refer to a time many years in the past.

We know that, for millennia, the appearances of the moon have been used to track time. In fact, the words "moon" and "month" share very similar roots; in Proto-Germanic language, they were menon and menoth, respectively. Tracking a full moon cycle thus came to mark a full month. "Many moons ago" is a reference to an ancient way of counting days and weeks.

Image: pics4cwolfe

This construction might be the opposite of "promising the moon." When someone is "asking for the moon," they are demanding an unachievable or some unreasonable, high-value goal. It’s used to describe impractical fantasies or whims.

Just like "promising the moon," it is a hyperbolic idiom. It might have been born in the 1800s, with slight variations. Its use can be found in Charles Dickens’ 1852 Bleak House as "crying for the moon" and in William Makepeace Thackeray’s 1860 Lovell the Widower as "wishing for the moon."

Image: Valery Sysoev

Believing that someone "hung the moon" means to see them as impressive or godlike, capable of superhuman feats, like having been the one to hang the moon. This is an expression used to describe great admiration, believing a person can do no wrong. It’s an exaggerated way of expressing high regard.

Unusual or outdated as it is, the idiom caught on in the U.S. during the 20th century. Its origin is unclear, but it was first recorded in Randolph & Wilson’s gallery of folk speech called Down in the Holler. In it, they compare the expression "she thinks he hung the moon" to "she thinks he’s God’s own cousin."

Image: Elio Santos

The resemblance between a full moon and a cheese wheel is not something that modern cartoonists invented. It’s an image that has lived in the collective unconscious for centuries, at least. The comparison was already mentioned in The Proverbs of John Heywood, dated from 1546. There, Heywood wrote the expression "to make one believe the Moon is made of green cheese." Since then, the saying has been used to accuse blatant lies or deceptions, often said with sarcasm to point out that the truth is far from what was just said.

Image: Federico Di Dio photography

It’s also known as "howling at the moon." In both cases, it implies that some complaint or discussion is futile. The origin of the phrase is linked to folklore and the belief farmers developed that wolves and dogs tended to bark at the moon. In reality, the reason why a dog might be more likely to howl during a full moon is simply that there is more light outside, which can trigger their excitement. The expression became popular to describe the efforts of someone wasting their energy on attempts to change someone’s mind or revert a situation through words.

What if?

The scariest near-misses in history you’ve never heard of

Image: The New York Public Library

History is full of near misses—moments where a single decision, accident, or twist of fate could have completely changed the world. From avoided wars to scientific breakthroughs nearly lost, these events remind us how fragile the course of history can be. Here are 10 times history almost took a dramatically different path.

Image: Toby Elliott

Around 70,000 years ago, a supervolcanic eruption in Indonesia nearly wiped out humanity. Genetic evidence suggests that the human population dropped to just a few thousand!

Had the decline been any worse, human civilization might never have recovered or developed as we know it today.

Image: K. Mitch Hodge

The Titanic’s distress flares were seen by the SS Californian, a ship just 10 miles away. However, the captain misinterpreted the signals and failed to respond.

Had the Californian arrived in time, hundreds of lives could have been saved. Instead, the tragedy cemented its place as one of history’s deadliest maritime disasters.

Image: Elimende Inagella

In 1812, Napoleon’s invasion of Russia seemed unstoppable—until an unexpectedly harsh winter decimated his army.

The Russian cold, coupled with severe supply shortages, forced Napoleon’s retreat. Only 10% of his troops survived, marking a turning point in European history.

Image: NASA

During the moon landing, Buzz Aldrin noticed a broken circuit breaker that could have stranded them on the lunar surface. Fortunately, he used a felt-tip pen to fix it.

If the makeshift repair had failed, Neil Armstrong and Aldrin might have been the first men to die on the moon.

Image: Peter Kvetny

In the 14th century, the bubonic plague killed millions. It nearly wiped out entire regions, transforming Europe’s social and economic structure.

If the disease had been slightly more virulent, the Renaissance and Industrial Revolution might never have happened.

Image: Tim Marshall

The Allies originally planned to invade Normandy on June 5, 1944, but a last-minute weather forecast prompted a 24-hour delay.

Had they gone ahead, bad weather could have doomed the invasion. The successful landing on June 6 helped turn the tide of World War II. Fortunately, we learned the lesson from Napoleon!

Image: Mark Stuckey

In 1605, Guy Fawkes’ plot to blow up the English Parliament was foiled at the last minute.

Had it succeeded, much of England’s leadership—including King James I—would have been killed, likely causing a massive power shift.

Image: Dan Meyers

In 1979, a training tape mistakenly showed a full-scale Soviet attack simulation on U.S. computers. Military leaders prepared to launch a counterattack.

The mistake was caught just in time. A nuclear war was narrowly avoided due to human intervention.

Image: Su San Lee

In 1281, a massive Mongol fleet attempted to invade Japan but was wiped out by a typhoon.

The storm, later called the "Divine Wind" (Kamikaze), saved Japan from conquest and altered the course of Asian history.

Image: Oo Jiflip

In 1961, a U.S. B-52 bomber broke apart over North Carolina, dropping two nuclear bombs. One nearly detonated—five of six safety switches had failed.

Had it exploded, the blast would have been 250 times more powerful than Hiroshima, devastating the Eastern Seaboard. The incident remains one of the closest calls in nuclear history.