over the top

1. Surpassing a goal or quota, as in The new salesmen are excellent; they were over the top within the first six months . [Mid-1900s]

2. Over the parapet of a military trench, as in The lieutenant sent fresh troops over the top . This usage dates from World War I.

3. Extreme, outrageous, as in This comedian's style goes over the top . [ Slang ; late 1900s]

Example Sentences

“After you’ve incorporated your fat into your flour, you want to drizzle your ice-cold water over the top — and you want to do it a little at a time. I usually use a fork to mix everything so that I’m distributing the water and not getting it all in one area. You don’t want to over-mix. The dough should clump and stick together, but it still should look kind of shaggy and dry. You don’t want to over-wet your dough because that will give you a tough crust.”

Read more on Salon

It goes up and over the top rather than around the side, travelling at a right angle to the carousel-like path we normally find.

Read more on Space Scoop

“Israel has gone over the top because it has been allowed to do so by the West. Its friends were not very friendly in a sense, because they didn’t stop it from committing suicide in the long term,” she said.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

Rather than the noise filtering down from the terrace on to the tee, it seemed to drift over the top of the players and down the fairway.

Read more on BBC

One song, “Grandmother,” features Laraaji singing wildly and searchingly over the top of Lenker’s vocals.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• exaggerated 
• outrageous