a bridge too far



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a bridge too far

An act or plan whose ambition overreaches its capability, resulting in or potentially leading to difficulty or failure. Taken from the 1974 book A Bridge Too Far by Cornelius Ryan, which details the Allies' disastrous attempts to capture German-controlled bridges in the Netherlands during World War II. The multi-million-dollar purchase of the small startup proved a bridge too far for the social media company, as the added revenue couldn't make up for the cost in the end.
See also: bridge, far

Common Names:

NameGenderPronouncedUsage
Naziha-Arabic
Xenophon-Ancient Greek
Durans-Late Roman
GerhardGER-hahrt (German), KHER-hahrt (Dutch)German, Dutch, Swedish, Danish, Norwegian, Ancient Germanic
Ante (1)-Croatian
Matthiasmah-TEE-ahs (German), mə-THIE-əs (English)Greek, German, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, French, Dutch, Biblical, Biblical Latin, Biblical Greek