a bridge too far

1 a step or act that is regarded as being too drastic or impracticable to take or contemplate.

2 something that is very difficult to achieve.

☞ The phrase comes from the title of Cornelius Ryan's book A Bridge Too Far (1974), popularized by Richard Attenborough's film (1977) of the same name, concerning the Allied airborne landings in Holland in 1944. Officially named 'Operation Market Garden', they were intended to capture eleven bridges over the Rhine to facilitate the invasion of Germany, but the bridge at Arnhem proved impossible to take.

❶ 2018Linwood BarclayA Noise Downstairs Sleepwalking was one thing. But inventing messages from the dead and having no memory of it? That was a bridge too far.