Is it correct to say moon starry nights?












5















I'm trying to say very briefly that the night was starry and there was the moon also.



Question



Is it correct to say moon starry night? If not, do you see any option?



Edit



Maybe mooned starry nights?










share|improve this question





























    5















    I'm trying to say very briefly that the night was starry and there was the moon also.



    Question



    Is it correct to say moon starry night? If not, do you see any option?



    Edit



    Maybe mooned starry nights?










    share|improve this question



























      5












      5








      5


      1






      I'm trying to say very briefly that the night was starry and there was the moon also.



      Question



      Is it correct to say moon starry night? If not, do you see any option?



      Edit



      Maybe mooned starry nights?










      share|improve this question
















      I'm trying to say very briefly that the night was starry and there was the moon also.



      Question



      Is it correct to say moon starry night? If not, do you see any option?



      Edit



      Maybe mooned starry nights?







      meaning meaning-in-context phrase-request






      share|improve this question















      share|improve this question













      share|improve this question




      share|improve this question








      edited yesterday









      ColleenV

      10.5k53261




      10.5k53261










      asked Mar 31 at 20:36









      santimirandarpsantimirandarp

      1681110




      1681110






















          4 Answers
          4






          active

          oldest

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          19














          Normally if it is a moonlit night, the stars are not as bright as they are on a night without a moon, but if you mean to say that the night has both a moon and bright stars, you could say that many ways:




          "The sky was lit by the moon and the stars."



          "The night was starry and moonlit."



          "It was a starry, moonlit night."




          etc.



          But "moon starry night" does not sound idiomatic at all to me.






          share|improve this answer



















          • 5





            Unfortunately, "moon" as a verb has a couple of meanings that have nothing to do with the actual moon in the sky: merriam-webster.com/dictionary/moon - so if you tried to use "mooned" with the intended meaning "with the moon visible" that would not work.

            – Mixolydian
            Mar 31 at 21:09






          • 1





            "It was a moon-starry night" could be poetic and very nice in the right context.

            – MackTuesday
            2 days ago






          • 6





            Poetry isn't what English learners are usually aiming for at first. It can be very confusing to try to comprehend. But yes, I do see what you mean about the moon-starry night. It has a pretty sound.

            – Lorel C.
            2 days ago






          • 8





            Or "moonlit, starry night"? (Most similar to the question's initial form...)

            – Stobor
            2 days ago








          • 4





            @Stobor FWIW, I think "it was a starry moonlit night" is slightly more natural than "it was a moonlit starry night," in the same way that "a big red rubber ball" is more natural than "a red big rubber ball." It might just be due to "starry night" being a recognizable allusion, so breaking up the phrase helps eliminate that allusion from the reader's mind.

            – Quuxplusone
            2 days ago





















          6














          I can see nothing wrong with "It was a starry night and the moon was also shining". Or just "The moon and stars were shining".



          We don't say "a moony night", the phrase "a starry night" is something of a fixed idiom.






          share|improve this answer
























          • Well we could say a moony night if we had a lot of moons.

            – Joshua
            2 days ago











          • @Joshua we could also say it if members of the Unification Church were out in force... :)

            – RonJohn
            yesterday



















          6














          It's fine to say starry night - here, starry is a adjective applied to the noun night.



          We can't say moon night - we need to turn moon into a adjective. One guess might be moony, but if we look that up, it has very different meaning. The word we're looking for is moonlit, which is an adjective we could use here:



          It was a moonlit starry night.






          share|improve this answer































            1














            Other answerers have already pointed out that




            It was a starry moonlit night.




            fulfills your request adequately. However, word choice can also depend on context — is this supposed to sound poetic? archaic? matter-of-fact?




            The night was lit by the moon and stars above.



            The only source of light was the moon and stars.



            The stars, almost as bright as the full moon, cast a mystical light over the scene below.



            Deneb and Aldebaran blazed cheerily as always, but for once there was only a single moon in the sky.



            On a night when both the moon and the stars are visible, set up your telescope on the highest point you can find.




            In other words, it's hardly necessary to state that the night was lit by the moon and stars; those are by definition the things that are out at night. We don't see many sunlit nights! (At least not at my latitude.) So if you're explicitly mentioning the moon and stars, there must be a reason for it. Find that reason and work it in. With more creative possibilities, you'll have correspondingly less need to worry about one particular construction sounding stilted.



            Also notice that while the moon comes and goes, the stars are always "out" — unless it's cloudy. Thus another option:




            The night was moonlit and clear.







            share|improve this answer
























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              4 Answers
              4






              active

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              4 Answers
              4






              active

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              active

              oldest

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              active

              oldest

              votes









              19














              Normally if it is a moonlit night, the stars are not as bright as they are on a night without a moon, but if you mean to say that the night has both a moon and bright stars, you could say that many ways:




              "The sky was lit by the moon and the stars."



              "The night was starry and moonlit."



              "It was a starry, moonlit night."




              etc.



              But "moon starry night" does not sound idiomatic at all to me.






              share|improve this answer



















              • 5





                Unfortunately, "moon" as a verb has a couple of meanings that have nothing to do with the actual moon in the sky: merriam-webster.com/dictionary/moon - so if you tried to use "mooned" with the intended meaning "with the moon visible" that would not work.

                – Mixolydian
                Mar 31 at 21:09






              • 1





                "It was a moon-starry night" could be poetic and very nice in the right context.

                – MackTuesday
                2 days ago






              • 6





                Poetry isn't what English learners are usually aiming for at first. It can be very confusing to try to comprehend. But yes, I do see what you mean about the moon-starry night. It has a pretty sound.

                – Lorel C.
                2 days ago






              • 8





                Or "moonlit, starry night"? (Most similar to the question's initial form...)

                – Stobor
                2 days ago








              • 4





                @Stobor FWIW, I think "it was a starry moonlit night" is slightly more natural than "it was a moonlit starry night," in the same way that "a big red rubber ball" is more natural than "a red big rubber ball." It might just be due to "starry night" being a recognizable allusion, so breaking up the phrase helps eliminate that allusion from the reader's mind.

                – Quuxplusone
                2 days ago


















              19














              Normally if it is a moonlit night, the stars are not as bright as they are on a night without a moon, but if you mean to say that the night has both a moon and bright stars, you could say that many ways:




              "The sky was lit by the moon and the stars."



              "The night was starry and moonlit."



              "It was a starry, moonlit night."




              etc.



              But "moon starry night" does not sound idiomatic at all to me.






              share|improve this answer



















              • 5





                Unfortunately, "moon" as a verb has a couple of meanings that have nothing to do with the actual moon in the sky: merriam-webster.com/dictionary/moon - so if you tried to use "mooned" with the intended meaning "with the moon visible" that would not work.

                – Mixolydian
                Mar 31 at 21:09






              • 1





                "It was a moon-starry night" could be poetic and very nice in the right context.

                – MackTuesday
                2 days ago






              • 6





                Poetry isn't what English learners are usually aiming for at first. It can be very confusing to try to comprehend. But yes, I do see what you mean about the moon-starry night. It has a pretty sound.

                – Lorel C.
                2 days ago






              • 8





                Or "moonlit, starry night"? (Most similar to the question's initial form...)

                – Stobor
                2 days ago








              • 4





                @Stobor FWIW, I think "it was a starry moonlit night" is slightly more natural than "it was a moonlit starry night," in the same way that "a big red rubber ball" is more natural than "a red big rubber ball." It might just be due to "starry night" being a recognizable allusion, so breaking up the phrase helps eliminate that allusion from the reader's mind.

                – Quuxplusone
                2 days ago
















              19












              19








              19







              Normally if it is a moonlit night, the stars are not as bright as they are on a night without a moon, but if you mean to say that the night has both a moon and bright stars, you could say that many ways:




              "The sky was lit by the moon and the stars."



              "The night was starry and moonlit."



              "It was a starry, moonlit night."




              etc.



              But "moon starry night" does not sound idiomatic at all to me.






              share|improve this answer













              Normally if it is a moonlit night, the stars are not as bright as they are on a night without a moon, but if you mean to say that the night has both a moon and bright stars, you could say that many ways:




              "The sky was lit by the moon and the stars."



              "The night was starry and moonlit."



              "It was a starry, moonlit night."




              etc.



              But "moon starry night" does not sound idiomatic at all to me.







              share|improve this answer












              share|improve this answer



              share|improve this answer










              answered Mar 31 at 20:54









              Lorel C.Lorel C.

              4,4141410




              4,4141410








              • 5





                Unfortunately, "moon" as a verb has a couple of meanings that have nothing to do with the actual moon in the sky: merriam-webster.com/dictionary/moon - so if you tried to use "mooned" with the intended meaning "with the moon visible" that would not work.

                – Mixolydian
                Mar 31 at 21:09






              • 1





                "It was a moon-starry night" could be poetic and very nice in the right context.

                – MackTuesday
                2 days ago






              • 6





                Poetry isn't what English learners are usually aiming for at first. It can be very confusing to try to comprehend. But yes, I do see what you mean about the moon-starry night. It has a pretty sound.

                – Lorel C.
                2 days ago






              • 8





                Or "moonlit, starry night"? (Most similar to the question's initial form...)

                – Stobor
                2 days ago








              • 4





                @Stobor FWIW, I think "it was a starry moonlit night" is slightly more natural than "it was a moonlit starry night," in the same way that "a big red rubber ball" is more natural than "a red big rubber ball." It might just be due to "starry night" being a recognizable allusion, so breaking up the phrase helps eliminate that allusion from the reader's mind.

                – Quuxplusone
                2 days ago
















              • 5





                Unfortunately, "moon" as a verb has a couple of meanings that have nothing to do with the actual moon in the sky: merriam-webster.com/dictionary/moon - so if you tried to use "mooned" with the intended meaning "with the moon visible" that would not work.

                – Mixolydian
                Mar 31 at 21:09






              • 1





                "It was a moon-starry night" could be poetic and very nice in the right context.

                – MackTuesday
                2 days ago






              • 6





                Poetry isn't what English learners are usually aiming for at first. It can be very confusing to try to comprehend. But yes, I do see what you mean about the moon-starry night. It has a pretty sound.

                – Lorel C.
                2 days ago






              • 8





                Or "moonlit, starry night"? (Most similar to the question's initial form...)

                – Stobor
                2 days ago








              • 4





                @Stobor FWIW, I think "it was a starry moonlit night" is slightly more natural than "it was a moonlit starry night," in the same way that "a big red rubber ball" is more natural than "a red big rubber ball." It might just be due to "starry night" being a recognizable allusion, so breaking up the phrase helps eliminate that allusion from the reader's mind.

                – Quuxplusone
                2 days ago










              5




              5





              Unfortunately, "moon" as a verb has a couple of meanings that have nothing to do with the actual moon in the sky: merriam-webster.com/dictionary/moon - so if you tried to use "mooned" with the intended meaning "with the moon visible" that would not work.

              – Mixolydian
              Mar 31 at 21:09





              Unfortunately, "moon" as a verb has a couple of meanings that have nothing to do with the actual moon in the sky: merriam-webster.com/dictionary/moon - so if you tried to use "mooned" with the intended meaning "with the moon visible" that would not work.

              – Mixolydian
              Mar 31 at 21:09




              1




              1





              "It was a moon-starry night" could be poetic and very nice in the right context.

              – MackTuesday
              2 days ago





              "It was a moon-starry night" could be poetic and very nice in the right context.

              – MackTuesday
              2 days ago




              6




              6





              Poetry isn't what English learners are usually aiming for at first. It can be very confusing to try to comprehend. But yes, I do see what you mean about the moon-starry night. It has a pretty sound.

              – Lorel C.
              2 days ago





              Poetry isn't what English learners are usually aiming for at first. It can be very confusing to try to comprehend. But yes, I do see what you mean about the moon-starry night. It has a pretty sound.

              – Lorel C.
              2 days ago




              8




              8





              Or "moonlit, starry night"? (Most similar to the question's initial form...)

              – Stobor
              2 days ago







              Or "moonlit, starry night"? (Most similar to the question's initial form...)

              – Stobor
              2 days ago






              4




              4





              @Stobor FWIW, I think "it was a starry moonlit night" is slightly more natural than "it was a moonlit starry night," in the same way that "a big red rubber ball" is more natural than "a red big rubber ball." It might just be due to "starry night" being a recognizable allusion, so breaking up the phrase helps eliminate that allusion from the reader's mind.

              – Quuxplusone
              2 days ago







              @Stobor FWIW, I think "it was a starry moonlit night" is slightly more natural than "it was a moonlit starry night," in the same way that "a big red rubber ball" is more natural than "a red big rubber ball." It might just be due to "starry night" being a recognizable allusion, so breaking up the phrase helps eliminate that allusion from the reader's mind.

              – Quuxplusone
              2 days ago















              6














              I can see nothing wrong with "It was a starry night and the moon was also shining". Or just "The moon and stars were shining".



              We don't say "a moony night", the phrase "a starry night" is something of a fixed idiom.






              share|improve this answer
























              • Well we could say a moony night if we had a lot of moons.

                – Joshua
                2 days ago











              • @Joshua we could also say it if members of the Unification Church were out in force... :)

                – RonJohn
                yesterday
















              6














              I can see nothing wrong with "It was a starry night and the moon was also shining". Or just "The moon and stars were shining".



              We don't say "a moony night", the phrase "a starry night" is something of a fixed idiom.






              share|improve this answer
























              • Well we could say a moony night if we had a lot of moons.

                – Joshua
                2 days ago











              • @Joshua we could also say it if members of the Unification Church were out in force... :)

                – RonJohn
                yesterday














              6












              6








              6







              I can see nothing wrong with "It was a starry night and the moon was also shining". Or just "The moon and stars were shining".



              We don't say "a moony night", the phrase "a starry night" is something of a fixed idiom.






              share|improve this answer













              I can see nothing wrong with "It was a starry night and the moon was also shining". Or just "The moon and stars were shining".



              We don't say "a moony night", the phrase "a starry night" is something of a fixed idiom.







              share|improve this answer












              share|improve this answer



              share|improve this answer










              answered Mar 31 at 20:51









              James KJames K

              40.1k142100




              40.1k142100













              • Well we could say a moony night if we had a lot of moons.

                – Joshua
                2 days ago











              • @Joshua we could also say it if members of the Unification Church were out in force... :)

                – RonJohn
                yesterday



















              • Well we could say a moony night if we had a lot of moons.

                – Joshua
                2 days ago











              • @Joshua we could also say it if members of the Unification Church were out in force... :)

                – RonJohn
                yesterday

















              Well we could say a moony night if we had a lot of moons.

              – Joshua
              2 days ago





              Well we could say a moony night if we had a lot of moons.

              – Joshua
              2 days ago













              @Joshua we could also say it if members of the Unification Church were out in force... :)

              – RonJohn
              yesterday





              @Joshua we could also say it if members of the Unification Church were out in force... :)

              – RonJohn
              yesterday











              6














              It's fine to say starry night - here, starry is a adjective applied to the noun night.



              We can't say moon night - we need to turn moon into a adjective. One guess might be moony, but if we look that up, it has very different meaning. The word we're looking for is moonlit, which is an adjective we could use here:



              It was a moonlit starry night.






              share|improve this answer




























                6














                It's fine to say starry night - here, starry is a adjective applied to the noun night.



                We can't say moon night - we need to turn moon into a adjective. One guess might be moony, but if we look that up, it has very different meaning. The word we're looking for is moonlit, which is an adjective we could use here:



                It was a moonlit starry night.






                share|improve this answer


























                  6












                  6








                  6







                  It's fine to say starry night - here, starry is a adjective applied to the noun night.



                  We can't say moon night - we need to turn moon into a adjective. One guess might be moony, but if we look that up, it has very different meaning. The word we're looking for is moonlit, which is an adjective we could use here:



                  It was a moonlit starry night.






                  share|improve this answer













                  It's fine to say starry night - here, starry is a adjective applied to the noun night.



                  We can't say moon night - we need to turn moon into a adjective. One guess might be moony, but if we look that up, it has very different meaning. The word we're looking for is moonlit, which is an adjective we could use here:



                  It was a moonlit starry night.







                  share|improve this answer












                  share|improve this answer



                  share|improve this answer










                  answered 2 days ago









                  Toby SpeightToby Speight

                  1,184515




                  1,184515























                      1














                      Other answerers have already pointed out that




                      It was a starry moonlit night.




                      fulfills your request adequately. However, word choice can also depend on context — is this supposed to sound poetic? archaic? matter-of-fact?




                      The night was lit by the moon and stars above.



                      The only source of light was the moon and stars.



                      The stars, almost as bright as the full moon, cast a mystical light over the scene below.



                      Deneb and Aldebaran blazed cheerily as always, but for once there was only a single moon in the sky.



                      On a night when both the moon and the stars are visible, set up your telescope on the highest point you can find.




                      In other words, it's hardly necessary to state that the night was lit by the moon and stars; those are by definition the things that are out at night. We don't see many sunlit nights! (At least not at my latitude.) So if you're explicitly mentioning the moon and stars, there must be a reason for it. Find that reason and work it in. With more creative possibilities, you'll have correspondingly less need to worry about one particular construction sounding stilted.



                      Also notice that while the moon comes and goes, the stars are always "out" — unless it's cloudy. Thus another option:




                      The night was moonlit and clear.







                      share|improve this answer




























                        1














                        Other answerers have already pointed out that




                        It was a starry moonlit night.




                        fulfills your request adequately. However, word choice can also depend on context — is this supposed to sound poetic? archaic? matter-of-fact?




                        The night was lit by the moon and stars above.



                        The only source of light was the moon and stars.



                        The stars, almost as bright as the full moon, cast a mystical light over the scene below.



                        Deneb and Aldebaran blazed cheerily as always, but for once there was only a single moon in the sky.



                        On a night when both the moon and the stars are visible, set up your telescope on the highest point you can find.




                        In other words, it's hardly necessary to state that the night was lit by the moon and stars; those are by definition the things that are out at night. We don't see many sunlit nights! (At least not at my latitude.) So if you're explicitly mentioning the moon and stars, there must be a reason for it. Find that reason and work it in. With more creative possibilities, you'll have correspondingly less need to worry about one particular construction sounding stilted.



                        Also notice that while the moon comes and goes, the stars are always "out" — unless it's cloudy. Thus another option:




                        The night was moonlit and clear.







                        share|improve this answer


























                          1












                          1








                          1







                          Other answerers have already pointed out that




                          It was a starry moonlit night.




                          fulfills your request adequately. However, word choice can also depend on context — is this supposed to sound poetic? archaic? matter-of-fact?




                          The night was lit by the moon and stars above.



                          The only source of light was the moon and stars.



                          The stars, almost as bright as the full moon, cast a mystical light over the scene below.



                          Deneb and Aldebaran blazed cheerily as always, but for once there was only a single moon in the sky.



                          On a night when both the moon and the stars are visible, set up your telescope on the highest point you can find.




                          In other words, it's hardly necessary to state that the night was lit by the moon and stars; those are by definition the things that are out at night. We don't see many sunlit nights! (At least not at my latitude.) So if you're explicitly mentioning the moon and stars, there must be a reason for it. Find that reason and work it in. With more creative possibilities, you'll have correspondingly less need to worry about one particular construction sounding stilted.



                          Also notice that while the moon comes and goes, the stars are always "out" — unless it's cloudy. Thus another option:




                          The night was moonlit and clear.







                          share|improve this answer













                          Other answerers have already pointed out that




                          It was a starry moonlit night.




                          fulfills your request adequately. However, word choice can also depend on context — is this supposed to sound poetic? archaic? matter-of-fact?




                          The night was lit by the moon and stars above.



                          The only source of light was the moon and stars.



                          The stars, almost as bright as the full moon, cast a mystical light over the scene below.



                          Deneb and Aldebaran blazed cheerily as always, but for once there was only a single moon in the sky.



                          On a night when both the moon and the stars are visible, set up your telescope on the highest point you can find.




                          In other words, it's hardly necessary to state that the night was lit by the moon and stars; those are by definition the things that are out at night. We don't see many sunlit nights! (At least not at my latitude.) So if you're explicitly mentioning the moon and stars, there must be a reason for it. Find that reason and work it in. With more creative possibilities, you'll have correspondingly less need to worry about one particular construction sounding stilted.



                          Also notice that while the moon comes and goes, the stars are always "out" — unless it's cloudy. Thus another option:




                          The night was moonlit and clear.








                          share|improve this answer












                          share|improve this answer



                          share|improve this answer










                          answered 2 days ago









                          QuuxplusoneQuuxplusone

                          34116




                          34116






























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