push the envelope

English

Etymology

From the boundary line on a graph of an aircraft's capabilities, especially those of height and speed. Engineering jargon (of the 1950s) popularized in Tom Wolfe's The Right Stuff (1979).

Verb

push the envelope

(intransitive, idiomatic) To go beyond established limits; to pioneer.

They pushed the envelope on pricing derivatives.

Translations

to go beyond established limits

French: pousser le bouchon (fr)

Swedish: tänja på gränserna

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