えんこうつきをとる
猿猴月を取る
to try and reach above one's station and fail; to try and accomplish something beyond one's abilities and fail; a monkey tries to catch the moon (and drowns)
N3Expression
Expression, Godan verb (ru ending)
to try and reach above one's station and fail•to try and accomplish something beyond one's abilities and fail•a monkey tries to catch the moon (and drowns)