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over the top

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over the top

 

1. Fig. having gained more than one's goal. Our fund-raising campaign went over the top by $3,000. We didn't go over the top. We didn't even get half of what we set out to collect.

2. Fig. outrageously overdone. The comedy sketch was so over-the-top that most of the audience was embarrassed.

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over the top

too extreme To blame one person for the collapse of the business seems way over the top. I listened to her speech, and some of her language was just over the top.

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over the top

1. Surpassing a goal or quota, as in The new salesmen are excellent; they were over the top within the first six months. [Mid-1900s]

2. Over the parapet of a military trench, as in The lieutenant sent fresh troops over the top. This usage dates from World War I.

3. Extreme, outrageous, as in This comedian's style goes over the top. [Slang; late 1900s]

See also: top

over the top

1. Surpassing a goal or quota.

2. Excessively expressive or dramatic.

3. Over the breastwork, as an attack in trench warfare: "a whole battalion, onto the beachhead, over the top" (Margaret Atwood).

See also: top