skies

praise (someone or something) to the skies

To heap lavish or excessive amounts of praise on someone or something. All the film critics have been praising her performance to the skies, but I thought it was a bit wooden, to be honest. Your previous boss praised you to the skies in his letter of recommendation, so we have high hopes for you here.
See also: praise, skies

the sky

informal The highest possible level of achievement, attainment, or success. My parents always taught me to reach for the sky when I was growing up—that I could be anything I set my mind to! With all your talent and money, you could do whatever you want. The sky's the limit, kiddo!
See also: sky

to the skies

To the highest degree; excessively. Typically used in the phrase "praise (someone or something) to the skies." All the film critics have been praising her performance to the skies, but I thought it was a bit wooden, to be honest. Your previous boss praised you to the skies in his letter of recommendation, so we have high hopes for you here.
See also: skies
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms.

praise someone or something to the skies

Fig. to give someone or something much praise. He wasn't very good, but his friends praised him to the skies. They liked your pie. Everyone praised it to the skies.
See also: praise, skies
McGraw-Hill Dictionary of American Idioms and Phrasal Verbs.

praise to the skies

Commend lavishly or excessively, as in The critics praised the new soprano to the skies. This expression, alluding to lofty praise, was in the 1600s put as extol to the skies but acquired its present form in the early 1800s. Also see sing one's praises.
See also: praise, skies
The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer.

to the skies

very highly; enthusiastically.
1989 Gay Daly Pre-Raphaelites in Love Gabriel wrote to his little sister praising Lizzie to the skies.
See also: skies
Farlex Partner Idioms Dictionary

praise somebody/something to the ˈskies

praise somebody/something very much; say somebody/something is very good, beautiful, etc: She’s always praising you to the skies: she says she’s never had such a good assistant before. OPPOSITE: not have a good word to say for/about somebody/something
See also: praise, skies, somebody, something
Farlex Partner Idioms Dictionary

praise to the skies, to

To commend lavishly; by extension, excessively. Earlier versions of this expression include laud and extol to the skies/heavens/ stars, as in Sir Thomas More’s “They praysed him farre above the Starres” (The History of Kyng Richard the Third, 1513). See also sky's the limit.
See also: praise
The Dictionary of Clichés by Christine Ammer
See also:
  • praise (someone or something) to the skies
  • praise somebody/something to the skies
  • praise to the skies
  • to the skies
  • lavish
  • lavish (someone or something) with (something)
  • lavish with
  • lavish (something) (up)on (someone or something)
  • lavish on
  • heap of (something)
References in periodicals archive
Environmental legislation that created more deadly pollution was indeed morally vacuous--and it wasn't long before religious eco-advocates started assailing Clear Skies. In April 2004, the National Council of Churches wrote Bush to express their "grave moral concern about your 'Clear Skies' initiative....
There was only one flaw in the advocates' assault Clear Skies didn't increase the amount of pollution that can be dumped into the air.
In order to compare what would happen under Clear Skies with what would take place under the Clean Air Act, the analysts used some fuzzy math: They simply plugged in emission caps in the Clean Air Act scenario similar to those in the agency's straw proposal, without undertaking serious analysis of what steps the states might actually take under the Clean Air Act to reduce pollution.
After the briefing charts became public, the Bush administration tried in vain to counteract the misleading PowerPoint slide show with its own full-dress analysis comparing Clear Skies to the Clean Air Act.
The administration never managed to recover from the false impression that EPA itself believed Clear Skies weakened existing law.
It was bad enough that green groups dismissed Clear Skies en masse as worthless or even harmful.
James Jeffords (I-Vt.) and Joseph Lieberman (D-Conn.) offered a Democratic alternative to Clear Skies that was even more radical than the straw proposal and imposed expensive caps on carbon dioxide emissions.
When EPA staff later analyzed the feasibility of Clear Skies' (much looser) emissions caps, they concluded that there was barely enough time in the first phase of the bill to recruit skilled boilermakers to install scrubbers, much less get needed permits for landfills and other procedural requirements.
The response of environmental advocates to Clear Skies is not altogether surprising, given the movement's loathing for Bush and his appointees, many of whom were drawn from the ranks of industry lobbyists.
Just one environmental organization, the Adirondack Council, testified in support of Clear Skies. For its efforts, the Adirondack Council was promptly named the "Clean Air Villain of the Month" in April 2002 by the Clean Air Trust, a hall of shame award ordinarily bestowed on big polluters and their industry-friendly lawmakers.
Partly sunny: why enviros can't admit that Bush's Clear Skies initiative isn't half bad