mountain

Faith will move mountains.

proverb Strong belief or trust in someone, something, or oneself will allow one to do or achieve incredibly difficult things. Just believe in yourself. Faith will move mountains, you know.
See also: faith, move, will

have a mountain to climb

To have an extremely difficult, seemingly impossible task at hand. After losing Ohio to his opponent, the president now has a mountain to climb if he wants to hold on to his job.
See also: climb, have, mountain

have snow on the mountain

To have silver, grey, or white hair on one's head, as due to aging. Sure, I may have a bit of snow on the mountain, but I still lead as adventurous a life as I ever have!
See also: have, mountain, on, snow

if the mountain will not come to Mohammed

proverb One must change one's actions accordingly if things do not proceed as one would like them to. A shortening of the phrase "If the mountain will not come to Mohammed, Mohammed must go to the mountain." You'll have to go woo investors if they won't come to you. If the mountain will not come to Mohammed, Mohammed must go to the mountain.
See also: come, if, Mohammed, mountain, not, will

make a mountain of a molehill

To exaggerate or put too much focus on a minor issue and make it seem like a major one. You got one B and you're acting like you're failing the class. You're making a mountain of a molehill, if you ask me. This is a minor setback. Let's not make a mountain of a molehill.
See also: make, molehill, mountain, of

make a mountain out of a molehill

To exaggerate or put too much focus on a minor issue and make it seem like a major one. You got one B and you're acting like you're failing the class. You're making a mountain out of a molehill, if you ask me. This is a minor setback. Let's not make a mountain out of a molehill.
See also: make, molehill, mountain, of, out

make mountains out of molehills

To exaggerate or put too much focus on a minor issue and make it seem like a major one. You got one B and you're acting like you're failing the class. You're making mountains of molehills, if you ask me. This is a minor setback. Let's not make mountains of molehills.
See also: make, molehill, mountain, of, out

mountain dew

1. obsolete slang Scotch whiskey. My grandfather had me and my sister totally perplexed when he asked us to get him a glass of mountain dew with a splash of water in it.
2. obsolete slang Any home-distilled liquor; moonshine. My great-uncle was apparently notorious for supplying the whole region with mountain dew back during prohibition.
See also: dew, mountain

mountain oysters

A food made from animal testicles, often those of a sheep or calf. A: "Let's get some mountain oysters!" B: "Are you sure? Did you read the description on the menu?"
See also: mountain, oyster

mountain to climb

A very difficult task or challenge. You certainly have a mountain to climb if you intend to get this project done by Thursday.
See also: climb, mountain

move mountains

To do or achieve something that is incredibly difficult. I firmly believe that our faith in God can move mountains. I would move mountains to be with you.
See also: mountain, move

snow on the mountain

Silver, grey, or white hair on one's head, as due to aging. Sure, there's a bit of snow on the mountain, but I still lead as adventurous a life as I ever have!
See also: mountain, on, snow
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms.

Faith will move mountains.

Prov. If you believe in what you are doing, you can overcome any obstacle. (Sometimes refers to faith in God.) Jane's faith in her cause could move mountains. You may feel disheartened sometimes, but remember that faith will move mountains.
See also: faith, mountain, move, will

If the mountain will not come to Mahomet, Mahomet must go to the mountain.

Prov. If things do not change the way you want them to, you must adjust to the way they are. (Mohammed is often used instead of Mahomet. Also the mountain has come to Mahomet, something or someone that you would not expect to travel has arrived. There are many variations of this proverb. See the examples.) The president won't see me so I will have to go to his office. If the mountain will not come to Mahomet, Mahomet must go to the mountain. If Caroline can't leave the hospital on her birthday, we'll have to take her birthday party to the hospital. If the mountain won't come to Mahomet, Mahomet will have to go to the mountain. It's true I don't usually leave my home, but if you can't come to see me, I'll have to come see you. The mountain will come to Mohammed.
See also: come, go, if, Mahomet, mountain, must, not, will

make a mountain out of a molehill

Cliché to make a major issue out of a minor one; to exaggerate the importance of something. Come on, don't make a mountain out of a molehill. It's not that important. Mary is always making mountains out of molehills.
See also: make, molehill, mountain, of, out
McGraw-Hill Dictionary of American Idioms and Phrasal Verbs.

if the mountain won't come to Muhammad, Muhammad must go to the mountain

If one can't have one's way, one must give in. For example, Since you can't come here for the holiday, I'll go to your house-if the mountain won't come to Muhammad, Muhammad must go to the mountain . This expression is based on a tale that Muhammad once sought proof of his teachings by ordering a mountain to come to him. When it did not move, he maintained that God had been merciful, for if it had indeed moved they all would have been crushed by it. [Late 1500s]
See also: come, go, if, mounta, mountain, Muhammad, must

make a mountain out of a molehill

Exaggerate trifling difficulties, as in If you forgot you racket you can borrow one-don't make a mountain out of a molehill. This expression, alluding to the barely raised tunnels created by moles, was first recorded in John Fox's The Book of Martyrs (1570).
See also: make, molehill, mountain, of, out
The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer.

if Mohammed will not go to the mountain

or

the mountain must go to Mohammed

People use expressions such as if Mohammed will not go to the mountain or the mountain must go to Mohammed to say that if someone that you want to see does not come to you, you have to go to them. People, for whatever reason, are reluctant to leave their houses to vote, so if Mohammed won't go to the mountain, we have to go to them. Fifteen minutes later, Chotas walked into the office of the Prosecuting Attorney. `Well,' Demonides said. `Mohammed comes to the mountain. What can I do for you?' Note: The full expression is `if Mohammed will not go to the mountain, the mountain must go to Mohammed'. Note: These expressions are based on a story about the prophet Mohammed, who was asked to show his power by making Mount Safa come to him.
See also: go, if, Mohammed, mountain, not, will

make a mountain out of a molehill

If someone makes a mountain out of a molehill, they talk or complain about a small, unimportant problem as if it is important and serious. The company's CEO has blamed the media for making a mountain out of a molehill. Don't make a mountain out of a molehill — it's really not a big deal.
See also: make, molehill, mountain, of, out

a mountain to climb

mainly BRITISH
If someone has a mountain to climb, they have to do a task which will be very difficult and will involve a lot of hard work. The negotiators have a mountain to climb if they want to bring lasting peace to this region. He still has a mountain to climb in persuading the public that war is justified.
See also: climb, mountain

move mountains

If you move mountains you succeed in doing something that is very difficult and requires a lot of hard work. If you get a good team round you, you can move mountains. We should all repeat five times a day, `It is possible to change!' With this belief, you can move mountains. Note: People sometimes say that faith or love can move mountains, meaning that faith and love can be very powerful forces. Here's proof, if it were needed, that faith can move mountains. Note: This is from the proverb `Faith will move mountains', which is based on the words of Jesus to his followers in the Bible: `If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, Remove hence to yonder place; and it shall remove'. (Matthew 17:20)
See also: mountain, move
Collins COBUILD Idioms Dictionary, 3rd ed.

have a mountain to climb

be facing a very difficult task.
See also: climb, have, mountain

make a mountain out of a molehill

foolishly or pointlessly exaggerate the importance of something trivial.
The contrast between the size of molehills and that of mountains has been made in this and related expressions since the late 16th century.
See also: make, molehill, mountain, of, out

move mountains

1 achieve spectacular and apparently impossible results. 2 make every possible effort.
In sense 1, the phrase alludes to 1 Corinthians 13:2: ‘And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries, and all knowledge; and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, and have not charity, I am nothing’.
See also: mountain, move
Farlex Partner Idioms Dictionary

make a ˌmountain out of a ˈmolehill

(disapproving) make a small or unimportant problem seem much more serious than it really is: It’s not such a big problem! You’re making a mountain out of a molehill!
See also: make, molehill, mountain, of, out
Farlex Partner Idioms Dictionary

make a mountain

and pitch a tent
n. to have a morning erection that raises the covers; to have an erection that makes a bulge in one’s clothing; to get an erection. Bobby makes a mountain almost every morning. When I was in the hospital, I was afraid I would pitch a tent in the morning.
See also: make, mountain

(mountain) dew

1. n. Scotch whiskey. The real mountain dew is smoky-tasting and amber.
2. n. illicit liquor; any liquor. Mountain dew is what I want. As long as it’s not store bought.
See also: dew, mountain
McGraw-Hill's Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions

make a mountain out of a molehill

To exaggerate a minor problem.
See also: make, molehill, mountain, of, out
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition.

if the mountain will not come to Mohammed...

When you can’t get your own way, bow to the inevitable. The complete expression is, “If the mountain will not come to Mohammed, Mohammed must go to the mountain.” This expression, with the spelling Mahomet (a slightly different transliteration from Arabic), is based on the story that Mohammed once asked for miraculous proof of his teachings and ordered Mount Safa to come to him. When the mountain did not move, he said, “God is merciful. Had it obeyed my words it would have fallen on us to our destruction.” Sir Francis Bacon retold the story, saying, “If the Hil will not come to Mahomet, Mahomet will go to the Hil” (in Of Boldnesse, 1597). It was repeated in John Ray’s English Proverbs (1678) and numerous sources thereafter, including Shaw’s play, The Doctor’s Dilemma (1906).
See also: come, if, mountain, not, will

make a mountain out of a molehill, to

To exaggerate trifling problems. This English equivalent of the French faire d’une mouche un éléphant (make an elephant out of a fly) first appeared in 1570, in John Fox’s The Book of Martyrs. The legendary humorist Fred Allen played on it: “A vice-president in an advertising agency is a ‘molehill man’ who has until 5 p.m. to make a molehill into a mountain. An accomplished molehill man will often have his mountain finished before lunch” (Treadmill to Oblivion, 1954).
See also: make, mountain, of, out
The Dictionary of Clichés by Christine Ammer
See also:
  • teach a man to fish
  • village
  • it takes a village
  • beget
  • chickens come home to roost
  • chickens come home to roost, one's
  • best defense is a good offense
  • a little knowledge is a dangerous thing
  • a little learning is a dangerous thing
  • better bend than break
References in classic literature
They had to traverse the most dreary and desolate mountains, and barren and trackless wastes, uninhabited by man, or occasionally infested by predatory and cruel savages.
The American fur companies keep no established posts beyond the mountains. Everything there is regulated by resident partners; that is to say, partners who reside in the tramontane country, but who move about from place to place, either with Indian tribes, whose traffic they wish to monopolize, or with main bodies of their own men, whom they employ in trading and trapping.
Adventures of Captain Bonneville USA in the Rocky Mountains and
It was almost pitch dark now, and only the stars lit up the Glass Mountain. The poor boy still clung on as if glued to the glass by his blood-stained hands.
Every night it flew round the Glass Mountain keeping a careful look-out, and no sooner had the moon emerged from the clouds than the bird rose up from the apple-tree, and circling round in the air, caught sight of the sleeping youth.
Yellow Fairy Book
Thus we can understand the identity of many plants at points so immensely remote as on the mountains of the United States and of Europe.
But the foregoing remarks on distribution apply not only to strictly arctic forms, but also to many sub-arctic and to some few northern temperate forms, for some of these are the same on the lower mountains and on the plains of North America and Europe; and it may be reasonably asked how I account for the necessary degree of uniformity of the sub-arctic and northern temperate forms round the world, at the commencement of the Glacial period.
The Origin of Species
The Indians of the Orellanna, also, tell of horrible noises heard occasionally in the Paraguaxo, which they consider the throes and groans of the mountains, endeavoring to cast forth the precious stones hidden within its entrails.
Whatever might be the supernatural influences among these mountains, the travellers found their physical difficulties hard to cope with.
Astoria or Anecdotes of an enterprise beyond the Rocky Mountain
It flowed in a gentle concave from the road up the mountain, its farther boundary an unbroken line of timber.
They came to the rim of a deep canyon that seemed to penetrate to the heart of Sonoma Mountain. Again, with no word spoken, merely from watching Saxon, Billy stopped the wagon.
The Valley of the Moon
Nothing belonging to a living world-- everything to a dead world, where avalanches, rolling from the summits of the mountains, would disperse noiselessly at the bottom of the abyss, retaining the motion, but wanting the sound.
"Newton," said Barbicane, "is the most perfect type of these annular mountains, of which the earth possesses no sample.
Round The Moon
The lofty mountains, their summits marked with a few patches of snow, stood well separated from each other, the valleys being filled up with an immense thickness of stratified alluvium.
Only thus can we gain time, at all sufficient to explain the truly astonishing amount of denudation, which these great, though comparatively with most other ranges recent, mountains have suffered.
The Voyage of the Beagle
He realized that he had put himself into a dangerous position by coming to this dreadful mountain, but he also knew that if he showed fear he was lost.
The Emerald City of Oz