push the envelope

Idioms and Phrases

Exceed the limits of what is normally done, be innovative, as in They are pushing the envelope in using only new fabrics for winter clothing . This idiom comes from aviation, the envelope alluding to the technical limits of a plane's performance, which, on a graph, appear as a rising slope as limits of speed and stress are approached and falls off when the capacity is exceeded and the pilot loses control; safety lies within these limits, or envelope , and exceeding them exposes pilot and plane to risk. [ Slang ; late 1960s]

Example Sentences

But what we were trying to do was use machinery and technology to push the envelope — to take a Queen-type thing and literally bring in the technology of a Joy Division or a Kraftwerk or a Human League.

From Los Angeles Times

“We set out to push the envelope, and what resonates with me is that for a moment in time, on a comic book movie, we did something that broke down the bounds of whatever had been done in this genre.”

From Los Angeles Times

It's really no wonder that the Republican Party, faced with the fact that it is a minority party, has decided to push the envelope even further.

From Salon

“I love having an idea and figuring out a way to bring it to life,” he says, “including the rest of the chef team to offer input and creativity to continue to push the envelope even more.”

From Seattle Times

What the Surge found suspicious about Louisiana, though, is that it obeyed the courts’ mandate without much of a fight, unlike Alabama, which continued to try to push the envelope.

From Slate