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Cry for the moon

Idiomatic Phrase
Pronunciation

Understanding ARPABET Pronunciation

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The pronunciation guide uses the ARPABET phonetic system—the same system used in speech recognition and text-to-speech applications.

Vowel Examples:
AE1 = cat, bat
EH1 = bed, head
IY1 = see, me
OW1 = go, boat
UW1 = boot, do
Stress Numbers:
0 = no stress (unstressed)
1 = primary stress (loud)
2 = secondary stress (medium)
Example:
AH0 TH IY1 N AH0
= a-THEE-na (Athena)

The stressed syllable (marked with 1) is pronounced louder and clearer than others.

Quick Definition

Cry for the moon: to ask for something utterly unattainable; the image of reaching for an unreachable celestial body makes this a poetic expression of impossible longing or desire.

Detailed Definition
Cry for the moon means to long for something impossible, excessive, or beyond reach. In poetry, the phrase naturally belongs to desire, childhood, romantic impossibility, spiritual yearning, and human ambition. The moon has long been a poetic emblem of beauty, distance, change, and unattainability, so the idiom carries rich symbolic possibilities. It can portray foolishness, innocence, tragic longing, or visionary aspiration. A poet may ask whether impossible desire is merely childish, or whether it is the source of art itself.
Example
Example in poetry:
A romantic poem might say the lover cries for the moon when asking time to stop; In a child's poem, cry for the moon can show impossible longing innocently; The phrase suits poems about desire beyond reach; A poet could use it to contrast human wanting with cosmic indifference.
Additional Notes
Cry for the moon means desire or demand the impossible. In poetry, the phrase is especially rich because the moon is already a central poetic symbol of longing, distance, romance, and madness. It can be used in children’s verse, love poetry, satire, or elegy. A poet may sympathise with the impossible wish rather than simply condemn it as foolish.
Also Known As
ask for impossible
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