| 释义 |
push the envelope
en·ve·lope E0167400 (ĕn′və-lōp′, ŏn′-)n.1. A flat paper container, especially for a letter, usually having a gummed flap.2. Something that envelops; a wrapping.3. Biology An enclosing structure or cover, such as a membrane or the outer coat of a virus.4. The bag containing the gas in a balloon or airship.5. The set of limitations within which a technological system, especially an aircraft, can perform safely and effectively.6. Astronomy a. A usually spherical region of interstellar matter surrounding a forming star and interacting with the star's gravitational and radiation fields.b. The coma of a comet.7. Mathematics A curve or surface that is tangent to every one of a family of curves or surfaces.Idiom: push the envelope To exceed or try to exceed the existing limits of a discipline or activity.
[French enveloppe, from envelopper, to envelop, from Old French envoloper; see envelop.]Usage Note: Some people dislike the pronunciation (ŏn′və-lōp′), arguing that it is pretentious for being pseudo-French and that it is unnecessary, since there is a perfectly acceptable Anglicized pronunciation, (ĕn′və-lōp′). But the pronunciation with (ŏn) is gaining in acceptability: in our 1992 survey, 30 percent of the Usage Panel used it exclusively, and another 9 percent used it occasionally; by 2011, 46 percent selected it as their preferred pronunciation. Both forms should be considered standard.
push the envelope
push the envelopeTo expand on, exceed, or test the limits of the established norm or standard. The company is renowned for pushing the envelope whenever they develop a new piece of technology. If you want to make a name for yourself in the art world, then you can't be afraid of pushing the envelope. It's a natural stage for most teenagers to push the envelope of their parents' rules.See also: envelope, pushpush the envelopeFig. to expand the definition, categorization, dimensions, or perimeters of something. The engineers wanted to completely redesign the product, but couldn't push the envelope because of a very restricted budget.See also: envelope, pushpush the envelopeExceed 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] See also: envelope, pushpush the envelope If you push the envelope, you do something to a greater degree or in a more extreme way than it has been done before. We have to keep pushing the envelope, trying new technologies and developing better methods. There's a valuable place for fashion and design that pushes the envelope a bit. Note: Rather than referring to stationery, the sense of envelope here is probably the one used to refer to the shape of a wave in electronics or a curve in mathematics. Pushing or stretching the envelope suggests changing the properties of the wave or curve. See also: envelope, pushpush the envelope (or the edge of the envelope) approach or extend the limits of what is possible. informal This expression was originally aviation slang and related to graphs of aerodynamic performance on which the envelope is the boundary line representing an aircraft's capabilities. 1993 Albuquerque These are extremely witty and clever stories that consistently push the envelope of TV comedy. See also: envelope, pushpush the ˈenvelope do something in an extreme way in order to find out to what degree something is possible: Advertisements seem to be pushing the envelope of taste every day. ♢ People these days like to push the envelope with extreme sports. ▶ ˈenvelope-pushing noun, adj.: envelope-pushing technologyThis expression comes from the aeroplane industry. A plane’s envelope was the limit of its performance. Test pilots would need to push (the edge of) the envelope to see what the plane could and could not do.See also: envelope, push push the envelope To exceed or try to exceed the existing limits of a discipline or activity.See also: envelope, pushpush the envelopeGo to extremes, go beyond accepted limits. This term comes from flight testing in the 1960s, where envelope signifies the limits of safe performance, and pushing it means to fly an aircraft faster or higher or dive more steeply than had ever been attempted in order to see what it could do. By the 1980s the expression was used figuratively, and so widely that it has become a cliché. Opera singer Renée Fleming used it in The Inner Voice (2004): “You want to go out there, push the envelope, and do something you’ve never done before.”See also: envelope, pushEncyclopediaSeeenvelopeFinancialSeeEnvelopeAcronymsSeePte |