over the line
43
8.2
- idiom
- Informal
- Send Pat an email with links if you feel someone has stepped over the line.
- step over the line
- go over the line
- cross over the line
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Watch on YouTubeYou just said it's hard to keep up with a lie and he is the one tripping over the line of deceit.
- You just said it's hard to keep up with a lie and he is the one tripping over the line of deceit.
- You know, this is this is really stepping over the line.
Examples
-
That is over the line!
-
Of course they're jokes, but it's a little over the line and the fans are not gonna like it.
-
This is over the line, sir.
-
But this is over the line.
-
I just think you might have gone over the line just a little too far.
Blog text (22) -
When does art step over the line?
Academic text (2003) -
You stepped over the line now.
-
You're going over the line again!
Fiction book (1991) -
Don't step over the line, because if you do, I'll take you to the headmaster's office.
Fiction book (1995) -
I understand that you are upset, but your comment was over the line.
Synonyms
242
4.2
Say or do something that is not acceptable and may hurt people
116
4.5
Act in a way that goes too far and is not right
64
3.6
Do something too much, more than needed
55
4.4
To do something more than is needed
43
5.9
To go beyond a limit or rule
35
5.3
To go beyond what is reasonable or acceptable
13
5.0
Go beyond what people consider acceptable
13
7.8
To do something that breaks a law, rule, or your idea of right and wrong
4
6.2
To go beyond what you are allowed to do
2
6.2
To behave in a way people think is not acceptable
1
6.3
To go past a limit people set and cause serious problems
Antonyms
How Inappropriate
224
4.2
218
3.2
- Informal
43
8.2
367
3.7
162
3.9
58
5.3
Surface Forms
Morphology
over + the + line
The meaning is directly built from 'over' (beyond) + 'the line' (a boundary or limit): a learner who knows these words can infer someone has gone beyond an acceptable limit. The boundary-as-line metaphor is common cross-linguistically and follows a straightforward compositional pattern, so B1 learners should be able to derive the intended meaning.
Etymology
Over the line comes from the simple image of a clear line on the ground that marks a limit and someone stepping over it. When you step past that mark you break the rule, so the phrase means 'behaving in a way that is unacceptable'.