"land among the stars"

[pinkie9]

"Aim for the moon, because even if you miss, you'll land among the stars" - W. Clement Stone

Does "land among the stars" mean "land on one of the stars"?

 

[Raymott]

"Aim for the moon, because even if you miss, you'll land among the stars" - W. Clement Stone

Does "land among the stars" mean "land on one of the stars"?

No. It means that if you aim for something high, you will end up somewhere high, even if you miss your exact goal.

 

[pinkie9]

Thank you for your reply, but I'm not asking about the meaning of the saying. I think I understand it.
What I want to know is a more grammatical meaning.
Is "land among the stars" the same as "land on one of the stars"? I mean, for example,
is "the starship landed among the stars" the same as "the starship landed on one of the stars"?

 

[Raymott]

Thank you for your reply, but I'm not asking about the meaning of the saying. I think I understand it.
What I want to know is a more grammatical meaning.
Is "land among the stars" the same as "land on one of the stars"? I mean, for example,
is "the starship landed among the stars" the same as "the starship landed on one of the stars"?

No, it isn't the same. Nothing can land on a star - they're gaseous.
'Land' here means 'end up' or arrive.

 

[pinkie9]

I'd like to make sure what "among" and "land "mean here.

I know what it means when it's used like "His brothers were among the people who attended the party."

But "land among the stars", especially if you say you can't land on a star, it sounds weired to me.
Does it mean "end up around (not on) the stars"? If so, isn't it weired?
To me, "land" and "around" doesn't seem to be a good combination, because "land" usually indicates coming down to "the ground", the surface, not the surroundng area. That's why I asked the question.

Longman does have a meaning which does not indicate "the ground" though.
land - Definition from Longman English Dictionary Online
5. [transitive] informal to succeed in getting a job, contract etc that was difficult to get:
He landed a job with a law firm.

Does this 5th meaning apply in this case? If not, which one in the dictionary applies?

 

[Raymott]

I'd like to make sure what "among" and "land "mean here.

I know what it means when it's used like "His brothers were among the people who attended the party."

But "land among the stars", especially if you say you can't land on a star, it sounds weired to me.
Does it mean "end up around (not on) the stars"? If so, isn't it weired?

Yes, it does mean that. No, it isn't weird. It's a metaphor. You're not supposed to worry about the fact that's it's impossible to "land among the stars" in a literal sense.


To me, "land" and "around" doesn't seem to be a good combination, because "land" usually indicates coming down to "the ground", the surface, not the surroundng area. That's why I asked the question.
"Among" in the example you've given means "one of". He was one of the people who attended. Another meaning is "surround by", which is close to the meaning of your question sentence.
Longman does have a meaning which does not indicate "the ground" though.
land - Definition from Longman English Dictionary Online
5. [transitive] informal to succeed in getting a job, contract etc that was difficult to get:
He landed a job with a law firm.

Does this 5th meaning apply in this case? If not, which one in the dictionary applies?

Defintions 6 and 11 are closer. But I've already told you what 'land' means in this context. I'm not at all concerned whether Longman has examples of this definition. Perhaps you could check other dictionaries if you need dictionary confirmation.
"Among" means "one of" in your party example. "He was one of the people who attended." It can also mean "surrounded by", which is the meaning in "among the stars."
http://www.ldoceonline.com/dictionary/among See definition 1.

 

[pinkie9]

I see. Thank you so much.