edge of the world
5
7.6
- noun
- There were ruddy hills near the edge of the world, and the winds blew delicately about.
- fall off the edge of the world
- standing at the edge of the world
- place on the edge of the world
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Watch on YouTubeAnd this is an afterlife here in the sunlight beyond the edge of the world, among the Sons and Daughters of the sea.
- And this is an afterlife here in the sunlight beyond the edge of the world, among the Sons and Daughters of the sea.
Examples
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As I stared at the distant horizon, it felt as though I was standing at the edge of the world.
Blog text (28) -
At the edge of the world, the cliffs drop steeply into the ocean below.
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Welcome to the edge of the world.
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Here I am, standing at the edge of the world, by myself.
Blog text (24) -
"What is beyond the edge of the world?"
Fiction book (1999) -
The whole experience felt like I was driving off the edge of the world.
Blog text (15) -
I am once again at the edge of the world.
Blog text (28) -
When you are there, it really does feel like you are looking over the edge of the world!
Blog text (10) -
There were mountains rolling away to the edge of the world on every side.
Fiction book (1999) -
His hand reaches out to touch the edge of the world.
Fiction book (1999)
Synonyms
4
4.5
A way of saying someone will go very far to help or find something
2
7.2
A very distant place that seems at the limit of the world
1
9.8
A place far from towns and people
1
9.9
Far past what people can imagine or expect
To travel to a distant place to find adventure
How Remote
Surface Forms
Morphology
The phrase combines the literal meanings of 'edge' (outer boundary) and 'world' (the planet), so a learner who knows both words can readily infer a boundary of the world and, by straightforward metaphorical extension, a very remote or dramatic place. This construction and metaphor are cross-linguistically common, making the sense immediately accessible to a B1 learner without prior exposure.
Etymology
The phrase edge of the world comes from an old image of the earth as a place you could reach the very edge, like standing on a high cliff where the world seems to fall away into the sea. That's why people use it today to mean 'a very remote or dramatic place'.