IdiomNature
English
Englishmove heaven and earth
Meaning: To try very hard to do something.
Example: “Her parents moved heaven and earth to get her into that school.”
Equivalents in other languages
French: Remuer ciel et terre Literally: To stir sky and earth
Origin: Heaven and earth together stand for the whole of creation, so moving them is the greatest effort imaginable. The phrase is found in English from the 18th century.
More English idioms
- shoot the breeze To chat or to pass time by chatting; to talk idly.
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- take a rain check To decline an invitation for now, with the idea of accepting it another time.
- take something by storm To win great success or popularity very quickly.
- take the wind out of someone's sails To deflate someone's confidence or spoil their high expectations.
- too many irons in the fire Too many activities demanding one's time.
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