beyond the pale

1. Totally unacceptable: “His business practices have always been questionable, but this last takeover was beyond the pale.” The Pale in Ireland was a territorial limit beyond which English rule did not extend.

Idioms and Phrases

Outside 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.

Example Sentences

Conspiracist and racist fantasies of the old right have been beyond the pale for Republicans since the 1960s.

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Calling the move “beyond the pale,” he added that of the 46,616 messages his office has received since January, “not a single one” asked for a new congressional map in eastern North Carolina.

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No doubt among such vast numbers there were some instances of rhetoric beyond the pale.

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When World War II began in September 1939, the default assumption was that bombing population centers — terrorizing and killing civilians — was beyond the pale.

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When World War II began in September 1939, the default assumption was that bombing population centers — terrorizing and killing civilians — was beyond the pale.

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Related Words

• banned www.thesaurus.com
• outlawed www.thesaurus.com
• prohibited 
• tabu www.thesaurus.com
• unthinkable