ask for the moon

ask for the moon

To make requests or demands that are (or are perceived to be) extraordinary or unreasonable. I just asked them if we could go to lunch a little earlier, and they're acting like I'm asking for the moon! I'm not taking out all the green jellybeans for him, he's asking for the moon!
See also: ask, moon
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms.

ask for the moon

Fig. to make outlandish requests or demands for something, such as a lot of money or special privileges. She's asking for the moon, and she's not going to get it. Don't ask for the moon. Be reasonable!
See also: ask, moon
McGraw-Hill Dictionary of American Idioms and Phrasal Verbs.

ask for the moon

Make an unreasonable demand, request the unattainable, as in $1,000 for her birthday? Mary might as well be asking for the moon. This hyperbolic idiom appeared in the mid-1800s in slightly different form. Charles Dickens had it as cry for the moon (in Bleak House, 1852) and William Makepeace Thackeray as wish for the moon (in Lovell the Widower, 1860). Today ask is the most common version.
See also: ask, moon
The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer.

ask for the moon

If you ask for the moon, you ask for something that you cannot possibly have. We're not asking for the moon, just a pay-rise in line with inflation. Note: Sometimes people say cry for the moon with the same meaning. I'm afraid that you're crying for the moon — it's simply not realistic.
See also: ask, moon
Collins COBUILD Idioms Dictionary, 3rd ed.

cry/ask for the ˈmoon

(also want the ˈmoon) (British English, informal) want or ask for something you cannot get, or something that will not be given to you: Is it asking for the moon to hope for peace in this country? I don’t want the moon; I just want him to listen to me for once.
See also: ask, cry, moon
Farlex Partner Idioms Dictionary
See also:
  • cry/ask for the moon
  • I only have one pair of hands
  • I've only got one pair of hands
  • someone's only got one pair of hands
  • (one) only has one pair of hands
  • (one's) only got one pair of hands
  • what did your last slave die of
  • can't very well (do something)
  • can't/couldn't very well do something
  • cry for the moon
References in periodicals archive
Vince: Ask for the moon and I would see it wrestled from their grasp.
Looks vs talent
* "It's a seller's market, so you can ask whatever price you want." Sure, you can ask for the moon. But if the market is starting to turn as it is now, in some places you won't get any offers.
Just how much is free real estate advice worth?
To expect a bullet train against this background is to ask for the moon. Our economic planners have from the very beginning seemed to have failed to realise the importance of modern means of travel within cities and between cities.
Bullet train
DON'T let's ask for the moon at Sandown today; we have the stars - and plenty of them, too.
Altior a star to savour on a day of Celebration; THE DAY IN A NUTSHELL
"We're not going to unionize and ask for the moon. We just want a contract where we can stay in this career and make a living."
Morning Call reporters vote to unionize
If not, ask for the Moon. For more call 09036582032 75p/min + network access charge
stars
Hellenic had every right to ask for the moon and the sky in order to cover the gap between the liabilities (the deposits) and the very selective assets they cherry picked.
An alternative way to deal with the Co-op Bank
You couldn't wish for a better week to ask for the moon - and get it.
Stars; JUSTIN TOPER'S WEEKLY PREDICTIONS
What TV executives will say is this: why ask for the moon when television has 74,500 stars desperate to catch themselves on the big screen and reverting to childhood?
Red-button coverage would be welcome
Against this backdrop expecting Loya Jirga to be a panacea for the deep-rooted ills of Afghanistan is to ask for the moon. Those who consider that the Loya Jirga due to its traditional social value has the strength and relevance to address the multifarious issues of Afghanistan perhaps do not understand the key changes that have taken place in the Afghan social structure as well as the international scene.
The Loya Jirga Solution
1 Name the film which includes the classic quote: "Oh, Jerry, don't let's ask for the Moon. We have the stars."
OUR DAILY PUB QUIZ
We know we cannot ask for the moon. But the government should not look at raising its resources at the expense of employment in the automobile sector," he said.
Toyota to cut production at its Bidadi plants in order to align production with sales
Apart from the splendour of the night sky, the great sense of discovery as we try to identify those we can, the stars give us romance - remember Betty Davis "Don't let's ask for the moon. We have the stars".
Letters to the Editor
We will not ask for the moon. We are just asking to be working in a less difficult and inhospitable country, more normal, more like other advanced countries."
ANCMA in Italy pleads for official action amid PTW market woes
It isn't unusual for customers to ask for the moon to see how much the program manager will compromise.
Key program management challenges: although never easy, PMs who think ahead can develop a manageable process