walk on water

To do something impossible or extraordinary. The phrase refers to the Gospel story in which Jesus walks on water. Because Jeremy was able to finish that huge project in just a few days, the boss now thinks he walks on water. I'm not asking you to walk on water here—just pick up your sister from basketball practice, it's not that hard!

walk on water, to

To perform a miracle. This hyperbole refers to one of Jesus’s miracles as recounted in the New Testament. The Gospel of Matthew states, “And in the fourth watch of the night Jesus went unto them, walking on the sea” (14:25; it is also in Mark 6:48). Sarah Graves used it in her mystery Dead Cat Bounce (1998): “I had been depending on George since practically the day I moved here, and while I was not convinced that he could walk on water, I thought he would probably take two or three steps before he went down.”