beyond the pale

Completely unacceptable or inappropriate. A "pale" is an area bounded by a fence. Disrupting my class is beyond the pale, young lady—go to the principal's office! Most people would consider stealing to be beyond the pale.

See also: beyond, pale

Farlex Dictionary of Idioms.

beyond the pale

Fig. unacceptable; outlawed. (A. pale is a barrier made of wooden stakes.) Your behavior is simply beyond the pale. Because of Tom's rudeness, he's considered beyond the pale and is never asked to parties anymore.

See also: beyond, pale

McGraw-Hill Dictionary of American Idioms and Phrasal Verbs.

beyond the pale

Outside the bounds of morality, good behavior or judgment; unacceptable. For example, She thought taking the boys to a topless show was beyond the pale. The noun pale, from the Latin palum, meant "a stake for fences" or "a fence made from such stakes." By extension it came to be used for an area confined by a fence and for any boundary, limit, or restriction, both of these meanings dating from the late 1300s. The pale referred to in the idiom is usually taken to mean the English Pale, the part of Ireland under English rule, and therefore, as perceived by its rulers, within the bounds of civilization.

See also: beyond, pale

The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer.

beyond the pale

COMMON If a person or their behaviour is beyond the pale, they are completely unacceptable. Any kind of physical aggression from your partner is beyond the pale. In those days divorced women were considered beyond the pale. Note: `Pale' comes from the Latin `palum', meaning `stake', and in English it came to refer to a territorial boundary marked by a line of stakes. The area inside was regarded as civilized, but the area beyond the pale was seen as barbaric.

See also: beyond, pale

Collins COBUILD Idioms Dictionary, 3rd ed.

beyond the pale

outside the bounds of acceptable behaviour.

A pale (from Latin palus meaning ‘a stake’) is a pointed wooden post used with others to form a fence; from this it came to refer to any fenced enclosure. So, in literal use, beyond the pale meant the area beyond a fence. The term Pale was applied to various territories under English control and especially to the area of Ireland under English jurisdiction before the 16th century. The earliest reference ( 1547 ) to the Pale in Ireland as such draws the contrast between the English Pale and the ‘wyld Irysh’: the area beyond the pale would have been regarded as dangerous and uncivilized by the English.

See also: beyond, pale

Farlex Partner Idioms Dictionary

beˌyond the ˈpale

considered socially unacceptable: Her behaviour towards her employees is completely beyond the pale. She treats them like servants.A pale was a boundary made of wooden posts or the safe area inside this. In the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries, the part of Ireland that was under English rule was called the Pale. The area outside this was beyond the Pale and considered wild and dangerous by the English.

See also: beyond, pale

Farlex Partner Idioms Dictionary

beyond the pale

Irrevocably unacceptable or unreasonable: behavior that was quite beyond the pale.

See also: beyond, pale

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition.

beyond the pale

Unacceptable, outside the rules of society, morality, etc. The noun “pale,” from the Latin palum, meant a stake of the kind used to make fences, or a fence made of such stakes. By extension it came to mean the limits designated by a fence, at first literally and then figuratively. In the fourteenth century the English Pale was a name given to the part of Ireland then under English rule and therefore within the bounds of civilization (as perceived by the English). There was a similar pale around Calais. More figuratively still, the English printer William Caxton wrote in 1483, “The abbot and 21 monks went for to dwelle in deserte for to kepe more straytelye the profession of theyr pale.” Three centuries later and three thousand miles away, Thomas Jefferson referred to “within the pale of their own laws.”

See also: beyond, pale

The Dictionary of Clichés by Christine Ammer

beyond the pale

A pale, originally a stockade made of pales of wood, was an area under the authority of a certain official. In the 14th and 15th centuries the British ruled Dublin, the surrounding area was outside the law. Anyone or anything beyond the pale was considered savage and dangerous, and the express came to mean anything unacceptable or beyond the limits of accepted morality or conduct.

See also: beyond, pale

Endangered Phrases by Steven D. Price

See also:

be beyond the pale
(as) pale as death
(as) pale as a ghost
pale
pale as a ghost
pale around the gills
Spanish faggot
white as a sheet
(as) white as a sheet
(as) white as a ghost

References in periodicals archive

Along with the meditation about Jewish identity, Beyond the Pale is a meditation about politics, a call to resistance and to commitment in the form of a reminder that we have not always been victims only.

Beyond the Pale

However, a 74-year-old spending 13 hours in a waiting room in the hope of being admitted to hospital is beyond the pale.

Evening Chronicle COMMENT: Time for change

He healed people on days when strict interpretation of laws meant he should not have done so; he spoke to, and touched, people regarded as being beyond the pale.

THOUGHT for the DAY

But for the city's leader to be so mealy-mouthed and downright mean is beyond the pale. Even the Lord Mayor's personal payment of pounds 101 seems derisory.

Letter: Council should write a cheque

and to suggest to somebody that if they manage to snare more than e5,000 of bookmakers' cash, they run the risk of having it impounded for the benefit of the Customs Officer's Benevolent Fund, is negativity beyond the pale .

READERS' LETTERS: Just doing our duty, sir

Why is it that Republicans, somberly intoning about the "rule of law," could muster the political will to impeach a President over a semen-stained dress, but impeachment based on misleading the country into war and illegal wiretapping is beyond the pale?

Impeachment buzz

We are now beyond the pale and the media tell us some of the primates meeting in Northern Ireland had a dinner to celebrate the occasion; I hope the menu did not include oysters Rockefeller or lobster thermidor because "Everything in the waters that has not fins and scales is an abomination ..." (Leviticus 11:12)

Holy Spirit may move in North America

Both projects convey a certain joie de vivre and lay claim to popular appeal but stand to some extent beyond the pale of contemporary critical discourse.

Tim Hawkinson: Whitney Museum of American Art

The usually chic Naomi's see-through shapeless nightie and oversized neck scarf are beyond the pale

CELEBARAMA: Groomed or doomed; PASTEL CHIFFON DRESSES Celebs are loving pastel chiffon - but who looks a sheer delight, and who's transparently bad?

Featuring two members from Lord Weird Slough Feg, Hammers goes beyond the pale of darkness with their distinct brand of mayhem.

Rickter scale of doom

11, 2001--to suggest that any government agency should be blown up, and that the people who work there merit mass destruction is beyond the pale.

Nuke the State dept.?: Robertson drops a bomb

Worst of all, friends, mentors, and close allies repeatedly abandoned him because how he chose to love and whom he chose to desire put him beyond the pale of what America at that time defined as acceptable....

What he overcame: a fine new biography tells the story of Bayard Rustin, the great, gay hero of the American civil rights movement

It notes that already in January the Vatican "told the politicians they have a moral duty to fight efforts to redefine marriage to include same-sex couples." But, it goes on to say, in Canada "justice looks for guidance to the constitutional Charter of Rights and Freedoms." It then lashes out with the incredible observation: "The Vatican's insistence that politicians put their religion first in determining public policy on the question is beyond the pale. It is an unacceptable proposition outside a theocracy."

Pope to MPs ..

To portray these creeps as humanitarian heroes is just beyond the pale.

Letters

If discovered passing (wittingly or unwittingly), a white person legally defined as African American could instantly fal l not only beyond the pale of society, but also into the terrain of ("negro") criminality, as one who defied the jurisdiction of "whites only."

"Looking at One's Self Through the Eyes of Others": W. E. B. Du Bois's Photographs for the 1900 Paris Exposition

词组	beyond the pale
释义	beyond the pale beyond the pale Completely unacceptable or inappropriate. A "pale" is an area bounded by a fence. Disrupting my class is beyond the pale, young lady—go to the principal's office! Most people would consider stealing to be beyond the pale. See also: beyond, pale Farlex Dictionary of Idioms. beyond the pale Fig. unacceptable; outlawed. (A. pale is a barrier made of wooden stakes.) Your behavior is simply beyond the pale. Because of Tom's rudeness, he's considered beyond the pale and is never asked to parties anymore. See also: beyond, pale McGraw-Hill Dictionary of American Idioms and Phrasal Verbs. beyond the pale Outside the bounds of morality, good behavior or judgment; unacceptable. For example, She thought taking the boys to a topless show was beyond the pale. The noun pale, from the Latin palum, meant "a stake for fences" or "a fence made from such stakes." By extension it came to be used for an area confined by a fence and for any boundary, limit, or restriction, both of these meanings dating from the late 1300s. The pale referred to in the idiom is usually taken to mean the English Pale, the part of Ireland under English rule, and therefore, as perceived by its rulers, within the bounds of civilization. See also: beyond, pale The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer. beyond the pale COMMON If a person or their behaviour is beyond the pale, they are completely unacceptable. Any kind of physical aggression from your partner is beyond the pale. In those days divorced women were considered beyond the pale. Note: `Pale' comes from the Latin `palum', meaning `stake', and in English it came to refer to a territorial boundary marked by a line of stakes. The area inside was regarded as civilized, but the area beyond the pale was seen as barbaric. See also: beyond, pale Collins COBUILD Idioms Dictionary, 3rd ed. beyond the pale outside the bounds of acceptable behaviour. A pale (from Latin palus meaning ‘a stake’) is a pointed wooden post used with others to form a fence; from this it came to refer to any fenced enclosure. So, in literal use, beyond the pale meant the area beyond a fence. The term Pale was applied to various territories under English control and especially to the area of Ireland under English jurisdiction before the 16th century. The earliest reference ( 1547 ) to the Pale in Ireland as such draws the contrast between the English Pale and the ‘wyld Irysh’: the area beyond the pale would have been regarded as dangerous and uncivilized by the English. See also: beyond, pale Farlex Partner Idioms Dictionary beˌyond the ˈpale considered socially unacceptable: Her behaviour towards her employees is completely beyond the pale. She treats them like servants.A pale was a boundary made of wooden posts or the safe area inside this. In the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries, the part of Ireland that was under English rule was called the Pale. The area outside this was beyond the Pale and considered wild and dangerous by the English. See also: beyond, pale Farlex Partner Idioms Dictionary beyond the pale Irrevocably unacceptable or unreasonable: behavior that was quite beyond the pale. See also: beyond, pale American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. beyond the pale Unacceptable, outside the rules of society, morality, etc. The noun “pale,” from the Latin palum, meant a stake of the kind used to make fences, or a fence made of such stakes. By extension it came to mean the limits designated by a fence, at first literally and then figuratively. In the fourteenth century the English Pale was a name given to the part of Ireland then under English rule and therefore within the bounds of civilization (as perceived by the English). There was a similar pale around Calais. More figuratively still, the English printer William Caxton wrote in 1483, “The abbot and 21 monks went for to dwelle in deserte for to kepe more straytelye the profession of theyr pale.” Three centuries later and three thousand miles away, Thomas Jefferson referred to “within the pale of their own laws.” See also: beyond, pale The Dictionary of Clichés by Christine Ammer beyond the pale A pale, originally a stockade made of pales of wood, was an area under the authority of a certain official. In the 14th and 15th centuries the British ruled Dublin, the surrounding area was outside the law. Anyone or anything beyond the pale was considered savage and dangerous, and the express came to mean anything unacceptable or beyond the limits of accepted morality or conduct. See also: beyond, pale Endangered Phrases by Steven D. Price See also: be beyond the pale (as) pale as death (as) pale as a ghost pale pale as a ghost pale around the gills Spanish faggot white as a sheet (as) white as a sheet (as) white as a ghost References in periodicals archive Along with the meditation about Jewish identity, Beyond the Pale is a meditation about politics, a call to resistance and to commitment in the form of a reminder that we have not always been victims only. Beyond the Pale However, a 74-year-old spending 13 hours in a waiting room in the hope of being admitted to hospital is beyond the pale. Evening Chronicle COMMENT: Time for change He healed people on days when strict interpretation of laws meant he should not have done so; he spoke to, and touched, people regarded as being beyond the pale. THOUGHT for the DAY But for the city's leader to be so mealy-mouthed and downright mean is beyond the pale. Even the Lord Mayor's personal payment of pounds 101 seems derisory. Letter: Council should write a cheque and to suggest to somebody that if they manage to snare more than e5,000 of bookmakers' cash, they run the risk of having it impounded for the benefit of the Customs Officer's Benevolent Fund, is negativity beyond the pale . READERS' LETTERS: Just doing our duty, sir Why is it that Republicans, somberly intoning about the "rule of law," could muster the political will to impeach a President over a semen-stained dress, but impeachment based on misleading the country into war and illegal wiretapping is beyond the pale? Impeachment buzz We are now beyond the pale and the media tell us some of the primates meeting in Northern Ireland had a dinner to celebrate the occasion; I hope the menu did not include oysters Rockefeller or lobster thermidor because "Everything in the waters that has not fins and scales is an abomination ..." (Leviticus 11:12) Holy Spirit may move in North America Both projects convey a certain joie de vivre and lay claim to popular appeal but stand to some extent beyond the pale of contemporary critical discourse. Tim Hawkinson: Whitney Museum of American Art The usually chic Naomi's see-through shapeless nightie and oversized neck scarf are beyond the pale CELEBARAMA: Groomed or doomed; PASTEL CHIFFON DRESSES Celebs are loving pastel chiffon - but who looks a sheer delight, and who's transparently bad? Featuring two members from Lord Weird Slough Feg, Hammers goes beyond the pale of darkness with their distinct brand of mayhem. Rickter scale of doom 11, 2001--to suggest that any government agency should be blown up, and that the people who work there merit mass destruction is beyond the pale. Nuke the State dept.?: Robertson drops a bomb Worst of all, friends, mentors, and close allies repeatedly abandoned him because how he chose to love and whom he chose to desire put him beyond the pale of what America at that time defined as acceptable.... What he overcame: a fine new biography tells the story of Bayard Rustin, the great, gay hero of the American civil rights movement It notes that already in January the Vatican "told the politicians they have a moral duty to fight efforts to redefine marriage to include same-sex couples." But, it goes on to say, in Canada "justice looks for guidance to the constitutional Charter of Rights and Freedoms." It then lashes out with the incredible observation: "The Vatican's insistence that politicians put their religion first in determining public policy on the question is beyond the pale. It is an unacceptable proposition outside a theocracy." Pope to MPs .. To portray these creeps as humanitarian heroes is just beyond the pale. Letters If discovered passing (wittingly or unwittingly), a white person legally defined as African American could instantly fal l not only beyond the pale of society, but also into the terrain of ("negro") criminality, as one who defied the jurisdiction of "whites only." "Looking at One's Self Through the Eyes of Others": W. E. B. Du Bois's Photographs for the 1900 Paris Exposition
随便看	mutter mutter about mutter about (someone or something) mutter (something) under (one's) breath mutton mutton dressed as lamb mutton dressed (up) as lamb mutton Jeff mutual mutual admiration society my my arse my arse! my back teeth are floating my bad my bloody oath my body is ready my country, right or wrong My cup runneth over my dawg my dog my dogg my dogs are barking my enemy's enemy is my friend my eye