promise (someone) the stars/moon/earth/world

idiom

: to promise (someone) that one will do or give something great or wonderful even though it is not possible
He promised her the stars and the moon, so she married him.
Politicians will promise the earth when they're trying to get elected.

Examples of promise (someone) the stars/moon/earth/world in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web Both can also leave you vulnerable to throwing money at treatments that promise the world. Alex Zaragoza, Los Angeles Times, 10 Oct. 2024 However, the industry is rife with providers that promise the moon but deliver far less. Ben Gebremeskel, Forbes, 5 Sep. 2024 Lawless Forget the Filler Lip Mask $22 Sephora Plenty of products promise the world insofar as lips go, but this one—founded by Annie Lawless—truly delivers. Perrie Samotin, Glamour, 29 Mar. 2024 Choosing The Right Tool And Partner Organizations need to be wary of partnering with tool vendors who promise the moon and charge exorbitantly for licenses. Vasudevan Swaminathan, Forbes, 9 Mar. 2023 There are health supplements that promise the world but deliver molehills. Amber Smith, Discover Magazine, 16 Dec. 2022 The story also tells the cautionary tale of spaceport promoters, who promise the world—more than the world, in fact—to communities and then often fail to deliver. Eric Berger, Ars Technica, 9 Sep. 2022

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'promise (someone) the stars/moon/earth/world.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Dictionary Entries Near promise (someone) the stars/moon/earth/world

promiseful

promise (someone) the stars/moon/earth/world

promising

Cite this Entry

“Promise (someone) the stars/moon/earth/world.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/promise%20%28someone%29%20the%20stars%2Fmoon%2Fearth%2Fworld. Accessed 31 Oct. 2024.

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