to outpope the Pope
- idiom
- Informal
:
ser más estricto que el Papa
- She tends to outpope the Pope during ethical discussions, never tolerating exceptions.
Examples
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In his quest for purity, the new principal tried to outpope the Pope with school policies.
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You can't outpope the Pope by being overly critical!
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Critics argued the legislation would outpope the Pope by imposing even stricter moral standards.
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His strict rules make him seem like he wants to outpope the Pope.
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Critics argued the legislation would outpope the Pope by imposing even stricter moral standards.
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In his quest for purity, the new principal tried to outpope the Pope with school policies.
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She tends to outpope the Pope during ethical discussions, never tolerating exceptions.
How Strict
- Informal
1
4.8
Surface Forms
Morphology
outpope + the + Pope
The phrase is transparently formed from the productive English prefix 'out-' (to surpass) plus 'the Pope', so its meaning — to be more papal/strict than the Pope — can be directly inferred from the parts. This follows a common pattern (e.g. outdo, outshine, outdo the competition), so a B1 learner who knows 'out'/'outdo' and 'Pope' should be able to derive the intended sense.
Etymology
Outpope the Pope uses the verb outpope and the noun the Pope to picture someone trying to be more like the Pope than the real Pope, acting even stricter than the top leader. So, it means 'to be more strict than the real leader'.