shoot the moon
Word Rarity
Uncommon
Frequency: Zipf frequency 4.41 in modern English
20
Scrabble Score
12
Letters
2
Syllables
7
Unique Chars
Meaning
verb
To attain great heights, a high value, or a numerically high measurement.
verb
To achieve the lowest or highest score possible, such that the player is usually rewarded with bonus points.
verb
Used other than figuratively or idiomatically: see shoot, moon.
Example Sentences
- "Already orbiting at altitudes unimaginable a few short years ago, interest rates moved even higher last week and threatened to shoot the moon."
- "In our last hand of pinochle, Leon and Janet shot the moon, taking all 50 tricks."
- "When Randy took the queen of spades on the last trick in our game of hearts, he shot the moon."
- "So that is how the old rascal shot the moon. He is off on blue water by this time with his whole outfit, and will come back with a fortune. The landlord won't grumble, because Schoolbred must pay his rent, […]"
- "Perhaps it was Powlett's memory of Boswell's charm that caused him, when he shot the moon and moved to France to escape creditors, to take with him his father-in-law's papers."
- "The Army, making its first attempt to shoot the moon, had spent weeks fussing over the Juno II, a 60-ton Jupiter IRBM with a spike of high-speed rockets."