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Glite Dictionary
to cross the red line

to cross the red line

1 6.3
To go past a limit people set and cause serious problems
  • idiom
  • Literature
translation icon : cruzar la línea roja

Examples

  • - Do not cross the red line.

    Fortress (1992)

  • A second technique is to ban and punish preachers who receive permission to speak but cross the red line by criticizing state policy.

    Academic text (1999)

  • If any member of our team crosses the red line, they will face immediate consequences.

  • The manager warned everyone that crossing the red line in their behavior would not be tolerated.

  • After he crossed the red line by lying to his colleagues, he was excluded from future projects.

Synonyms

to go too far
vsto cross the red line
201 4.2

Say or do something that is not acceptable and may hurt people

is used when that excess results in especially severe consequences
to cross the line
vsto cross the red line
  • Informal
89 4.5

Act in a way that goes too far and is not right

is used for breaches that lead to especially serious consequences
to overreach
vsto cross the red line
15 6.2

To go beyond what you are allowed to do

is broader, applying specifically when such excess produces grave outcomes
to transgress
vsto cross the red line
12 7.8

To do something that breaks a law, rule, or your idea of right and wrong

is focused on breaches that carry especially serious practical consequences
to overstep
vsto cross the red line
11 5.9

To go beyond a limit or rule

is used when the breach causes serious or grave consequences
to step over the line
vsto cross the red line
  • Informal
10 5.0

Go beyond what people consider acceptable

is stronger, used when that crossing leads to particularly serious consequences
to overstep the mark
vsto cross the red line
  • UK
3 6.2

To behave in a way people think is not acceptable

is reserved for exceeding limits that bring particularly serious results
to take too far
vsto cross the red line
1 5.3

To go beyond what is reasonable or acceptable

is applied when that extension produces especially serious or harmful results

Antonyms

to draw the line
  • Informal
82 4.1

Set a clear limit on what you will accept

to keep it between the ditches
  • Informal
9.9

To stay within safe limits and avoid getting into trouble

How Serious

to cross the red line
  • Literature
1 6.3
to transgress
12 7.8
to cross the line
  • Informal
89 4.5
to overstep
11 5.9

Surface Forms

cross the red line infinitive

Morphology

cross + the + red + line

The meaning is directly compositional: 'cross' (go across) + 'line' (a boundary) yields 'go beyond a limit', and 'red' functions as a conventional marker of danger/forbidden consequence, so the overall sense is inferable. The 'red line' metaphor for a serious/prohibited boundary is common across languages and follows standard English patterns, making it predictable for a B1 learner who knows the constituent words.

Etymology

The phrase cross the red line comes from the image of a bright red line marked as a clear limit; if someone crosses it, alarms or strong penalties can follow. So, it now means 'to go beyond a limit' and cause 'serious consequences'.