the promised land

the promised land

A place, destination, or goal eagerly sought under the belief that it will bring success, happiness, or fulfilment. The phrase comes from the Biblical description of Canaan, the land promised to the Israelites. You gotta move out West, dude. It's the promised land out here. We close this deal and we reach the promised land, partner.

See also: land, promise

Farlex Dictionary of Idioms. © 2024 Farlex, Inc, all rights reserved.

the promised ˈland

a place or situation in which people expect to find happiness, wealth, freedom etc: For millions of people in Europe, the USA was seen as the promised land. ♢ The Prime Minister’s speech seemed to suggest that we had already reached the promised land.This expression comes from the Bible and refers to the land that God promised the Israelites.

See also: land, promise

Farlex Partner Idioms Dictionary © Farlex 2017

promised land, the

A place or time of ultimate happiness; paradise or heaven. The term comes from the Bible, in which God promises the land of Canaan to Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and their descendants (Genesis 12:7). Later, the name became attached to the Holy Land (“The land of repromission, that men calles the Holy Land,” Sir John Maundeville, Travels, ca. 1400), and still later it was extended to any place viewed as wonderful (“To all these exiled sects America was the land of promise,” William Hepworth Dixon, William Penn, 1851) as well as to heaven. In modern times Israel is often called the promised land for Jews.

See also: promise

The Dictionary of Clichés by Christine Ammer Copyright © 2013 by Christine Ammer