man in the moon

noun

1. a fancied semblance of a human face in the disk of the full moon, so perceived because of variations in the moon's topography.

man in the moon

noun

1. the moon when considered to resemble the face of a man
2. (in folklore and nursery rhyme) a character dwelling in the moon

Word History and Origins

Origin of man in the moon¹

Middle English word dating back to 1275–1325

Example Sentences

The Man-in-the-Moon winked at them three times, once with his right eye, once with his left eye, then again with the right.

From Project Gutenberg

So they obeyed the old yellow Man-in-the-Moon and scampered like little white mice back to bed.

From Project Gutenberg

So fast they went they scarcely seemed to touch the snow, and on up the hill they rode towards the laughing Man-in-the-Moon.

From Project Gutenberg

I don't care about the man-in-the-moon very much, though Allee likes him.

From Project Gutenberg

The Old-Man-in-the-Moon made it very bright so that they could see.

From Project Gutenberg