"The Moon is made of green cheese" is a statement referring to a fanciful belief that the Moon is composed of cheese. In its original formulation as a proverb and metaphor for credulity with roots in fable, this refers to the perception of a simpleton who sees a reflection of the Moon in water and mistakes it for a round cheese wheel. It is widespread as a folkloric motif among many of the world's cultures, and the notion has also found its way into children's folklore and modern popular culture.
The phrase "green cheese" in the common version of this proverb (sometimes "cream cheese" is used),[1] may refer to a young, unripe cheese[2][3][4][5] or to cheese with a greenish tint.[6]
There was never an actual historical popular belief that the Moon is made of green cheese (cf. Flat Earth and the myth of the flat Earth).[A] It was typically used as an example of extreme credulity, a meaning that was clear and commonly understood as early as 1638.[9]
- ^ Davies, Thomas Lewis Owen (1881). A Supplementary English Glossary. G. Bell and sons. Archived from the original on 10 February 2023. Retrieved 17 February 2020.
- ^ Woolgar, C. M. (26 April 2016). The Culture of Food in England, 1200-1500. Yale University Press. ISBN 978-0-300-18236-1. Archived from the original on 10 February 2023. Retrieved 17 February 2020.
- ^ Brewer, Ebenezer Cobham (1900). Dictionary of Phrase and Fable, Giving the Derivation, Source, Or Origin of Common Phrases, Allusions, and Words that Have a Tale to Tell. Cassell, Petter, & Galpin. Archived from the original on 10 February 2023. Retrieved 17 February 2020.
- ^ Whitney, William Dwight; Smith, Benjamin Eli (1906). The Century dictionary and cyclopedia: a work of universal reference in all departments of knowledge with a new atlas of the world. The Century Co. Archived from the original on 10 February 2023. Retrieved 17 February 2020.
- ^ The Oxford Companion to Cheese. Oxford University Press. 25 October 2016. ISBN 978-0-19-933089-8. Archived from the original on 10 February 2023. Retrieved 17 February 2020.
- ^ The Oxford English Dictionary. Oxford University Press. Archived from the original on 10 February 2023. Retrieved 24 March 2020.
In the saying to believe that the moon is made of green cheese ... it is not clear which sense of green cheese is intended; the likely reference is to the mottled surface of the Moon, which might be likened to any of the senses.
- ^ Russell 1991, p. 3.
- ^ Russell 1997.
- ^ Wilkins, John (1638). New World Book. Vol. 1.
You may as soon persuade some Country Peasants that the Moon is made of Green Cheese (as we say) as that 'tis bigger than his Cart-wheel.
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