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Over the Top


The phrase 'Over the Top' is used when a goal or quota has been surpassed, or when something is outrageously overdone or too extreme.

Example of Use: "Her fundraising campaign went over the top by $5,000.”


Interesting fact about Over the Top

During the First World War, the phrase 'over the top' was used to describe infantrymen emerging from the relative safety of their trenches to attack their enemies across open ground. An early example of the term in print comes from a 1916 edition of War Illustrated: “Some fellows asked our captain when we were going over the top.”