Ask for the moon
Make an unreasonable demand, request the unattainable, as in $1,000 for her birthday? Mary might as well be asking for the moon. This hyperbolic idiom appeared in the mid-1800s in slightly different form. Charles Dickens had it as cry for the moon (in Bleak House, 1852) and William Makepeace Thackeray as wish for the moon (in Lovell the Widower, 1860). Today ask is the most common version.
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- Ask me another
ask me another sentence Used to indicate that one does not know the answer to a question: Am I ready? Ask me another. I am not in a position to say (1910+)
- Ask out
Invite someone to something, such as dinner, the theater, or a date. For example, We’ve been asked out to dinner twice this week, or Mary felt shy about asking John out. [ Late 1800s ] Historical Examples I ask out of politeness, dear; I don’t really care in the least how your ankle is! Arundel […]
- Ask, and it shall be given you
ask, and it shall be given you A teaching of Jesus in the Sermon on the Mount. He continues, “Seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you.” Note: This passage suggests that God will give whatever is needed to those who have the faith to ask for it.
- Ask-upmark kidney
ask-upmark kidney Ask-Upmark kidney Ask-Up·mark kidney (āsk’ŭp’märk) n. A kidney disorder characterized by renal hypoplasia with decreased lobules and deep transverse grooving of the cortical surfaces of the organ.
- Askance
with suspicion, mistrust, or disapproval: He looked askance at my offer. with a side glance; sidewise; obliquely. Historical Examples Her little Ladyship, eyeing me askance, answered, ‘I can’t come now—the dress-maker is waiting to fit on my frock.’ Discipline Mary Brunton When John Kenyon entered his office, he thought the clerk looked at him askance. […]