out-Herod

American  

[out-her-uhd] / ˌaʊtˈhɛr əd /

verb (used with object)

1. to outdo in extravagance, violence, or excess.

   His cruelty out-Herods Herod.

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out-Herod British  

verb

1. (tr) to surpass in evil, excesses, or cruelty

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Etymology

Origin of out-Herod

1595–1605; out- + Herod (Antipas)

Example Sentences

Con O'Neill as the roaring, bisexual tetrarch is not afraid to out-Herod Herod.

From The Guardian • Jun. 24, 2010

It was Shakespeare who used the phrase to "out-Herod Herod," and now this is a common form of speech.

From Stories That Words Tell Us by O'Neill, Elizabeth (Elizabeth Speakman)

Let him split the ears of the groundlings, let him out-Herod Herod,—the judicious might grieve, but all would be excitedly attentive.

From Selections From the Works of John Ruskin by Ruskin, John

I have known for years that you were capable of great presumption, but in this insolent and dictatorial address you surpass yourself—you positively out-Herod Herod!

From Americanism Contrasted with Foreignism, Romanism, and Bogus Democracy in the Light of Reason, History, and Scripture; In which Certain Demagogues in Tennessee, and Elsewhere, are Shown Up in Their True Colors by Brownlow, William Gannaway

You can't out-Herod a skunk; but you can bury it, Calamity, eh, old girl?

From The Freebooters of the Wilderness by Laut, Agnes C. (Agnes Christina)