“Promettre monts et merveilles” is a fun little French idiom that translates literally to “to promise mountains and marvels”. English meanings include:
- to promise the moon
- to promise the earth
- to promise the sun, moon and stars
A French definition on expressio.fr offers the following meaning: “to promise considerable advantages or benefits, admirable and surprising things.”
Here’s a sample sentence:
- Quand Pierre a eu son nouveau poste il a promis monts et merveilles a son patron mais apres quelques mois il n’avait rien fait. When Pierre got his not job position he promised the moon to his boss. But, after a few months he hadn’t done anything.
synonymous expressions include:
- promettre mers et monde to promise the seas and world (Canadian)
- promettre la lune à quelqu’un to promise the moon to somebody
- éblouir à force de belles promesses to dazzle with beautiful promises
