carved in stone
Related to carved in stone: cast in stone
carve (something) in stone
To make something permanent and incapable of being changed, typically a plan or idea. We might get brunch next weekend, but we haven't carved anything in stone yet.
See also: carve, stone
carved in stone
Permanently fixed or firmly established; incapable of being changed. Often used in the negative. The deal isn't yet carved in stone, but we're confident it will go ahead as hoped.
See also: carve, stone
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms.
carved in stone
and engraved in stone; written in stoneFig. permanent or not subject to change. (Often in the negative.) Now, this isn't carved in stone yet, but this looks like the way it's going to be. Is this policy carved in stone, or can it still be modified?
See also: carve, stone
McGraw-Hill Dictionary of American Idioms and Phrasal Verbs.
in stone, cast/carved/written
Completely set, unchangeable. This phrase is often put in the negative—something is not cast in stone. It alludes to sculpture, where to cast means to pour and harden a material into a final form, and possibly also to the epitaphs engraved on gravestones. The first usage dates from the early 1500s. Most often it appears in such statements as, “Of course we can change it; this proposal is not cast in stone.”
See also: carve, cast, written
The Dictionary of Clichés by Christine Ammer
- carve (something) in stone
- carve in stone
- be carved in stone
- be carved/set in stone
- set in stone
- carve
- in stone, cast/carved/written
- up in the air
- any (one) worth (one's) salt
- seem