| 释义 |
beyond the pale
 pale1pale 1 P0013700 (pāl)n.1. A stake or pointed stick; a picket.2. A fence enclosing an area.3. The area enclosed by a fence or boundary.4. a. A region or district lying within an imposed boundary or constituting a separate jurisdiction.b. Pale The medieval dominions of the English in Ireland. Used with the.5. Heraldry A wide vertical band in the center of an escutcheon.tr.v. paled, pal·ing, pales To enclose with pales; fence in.Idiom: beyond the pale Irrevocably unacceptable or unreasonable: behavior that was quite beyond the pale.
[Middle English, from Old French pal, from Latin pālus; see pag- in Indo-European roots.]
pale 2 P0013700 (pāl)adj. pal·er, pal·est 1. Whitish in complexion; pallid.2. a. Of a low intensity of color; light.b. Having high lightness and low saturation.3. Of a low intensity of light; dim or faint: "a late afternoon sun coming through the el tracks and falling in pale oblongs on the cracked, empty sidewalks" (Jimmy Breslin).4. Feeble; weak: a pale rendition of the aria.v. paled, pal·ing, pales v.tr. To cause to turn pale.v.intr.1. To become pale; blanch: paled with fright.2. To decrease in relative importance.
[Middle English, from Old French, from Latin pallidus, from pallēre, to be pale; see pel- in Indo-European roots.]
pale′ly adv.pale′ness n.beyond the paleUtterly intolerable or unacceptable; from the pale being used to mean the boundary between the part of Ireland controlled by the English and the rest of the island which was considered uncivilized.Translationsbeyond the pale
beyond the paleCompletely 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, palebeyond the paleFig. 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, palebeyond the paleOutside 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, palebeyond 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, palebeyond 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, palebeˌyond 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 beyond the pale Irrevocably unacceptable or unreasonable: behavior that was quite beyond the pale.See also: beyond, palebeyond the paleUnacceptable, 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, palebeyond the paleA 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, paleEncyclopediaSeePaleMedicalSeePALEAcronymsSeeBTPThesaurusSeepale |