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within the pale. In DICTIOUS you will not only get to know all the dictionary meanings for the word
within the pale, but we will also tell you about its etymology, its characteristics and you will know how to say
within the pale in singular and plural. Everything you need to know about the word
within the pale you have here. The definition of the word
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English
Etymology
The phrase within the pale, meaning to stay within the limits of law or decency, was in use by the mid-17th century. The phrase is a reference to the general sense of boundary, not to any of the particular places, such as the English pale in Ireland, which bore that name, or the Pale of Settlement, in Imperial Russia. Out of the many districts established by England (Cork, Dublin, Drogheda, Waterford, and Wexford), only a select few followed the laws established by England, hence "within the pale" and beyond the pale.
Prepositional phrase
within the pale
- Within the boundaries, either physical or metaphorical; especially within the limits of acceptable behavior.
2006 July 20, Matthew Parris, “Two reasons why I cannot bring myself to write about the Israel problem”, in Times Online:That settlement has to be a return to her pre-1967 boundaries. Precisely because Israel is by no means forced to make so generous a move, the international support (even love) this would generate would secure her future permanently. It would bring her back within the pale.
References
- Brewer’s Dictionary of Phrase and Fable, by John Freeman. Harper & Row Publishers, New York