Décrocher la lune
Meaning: To achieve the impossible — or, promised, to offer what cannot be delivered.
Language: French
Literally: To unhook the moon
Category: The Absurd
Origin: The moon stands as the thing fixed permanently out of reach. French uses all three verbs with it: promettre la lune to promise it, demander la lune to ask for it, and décrocher la lune to actually manage it.
More idioms — The Absurd
- Tomber comme à Gravelotte — To come down thick and fast, of rain or of blows.
- Merde ! — Good luck — said to a performer before going on stage.
- Voilà pourquoi votre fille est muette — Said of a grand explanation that explains nothing.
- Passez, muscade ! — Hey presto — said when something vanishes suspiciously conveniently.
- Se croire le premier moutardier du pape — To have a wildly inflated sense of one's own importance.
- Mystère et boule de gomme — Nobody has the faintest idea.
More French idioms
- Veiller au grain — To stay alert for trouble.
- Tomber des hallebardes — To rain extremely hard.
- L'été indien — A spell of unseasonably warm weather in autumn.
- La partie émergée de l'iceberg — The small visible portion of a much larger problem.
- Faire flèche de tout bois — To use every available means to achieve an end.
- Blanchir sous le harnais — To grow old in a profession.
From our compliments & insults
- Tu as le vent en poupe — Everything is going your way — you're riding a wave of momentum and success.
- Tu es un as — You're brilliant at what you do — the very best.
- Tu as de la répartie — You're brilliantly quick-witted — always ready with the perfect comeback.
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