Beyond the Pale

[pussing]

When and where did the phrase 'Beyond the Pale' originate? I have an inkling it was during WW1.

[Pinotage]

No, it definitely pre-dates WW1, as it was used in 1837 iby Charles Dickens in The Pickwick Papers . If you think paling fence then you're on the right track. For a explanation so comprehensive that it'll be silly to paraphrase it here go to http://www.worldwidewords.org/qa/qa-pal2.htm

[Cetti]

Very similar explanation here: The phrase "beyond the pale" dates back to the 14th century, when the part of Ireland that was under English rule was delineated by a boundary made of such stakes or fences, and known as the English Pale. To travel outside of that boundary, beyond the pale, was to leave behind all the rules and institutions of English society, which the English modestly considered synonymous with civilization itself. www.word-detective.com/back-q.html --------------------------------------------------------------------------------