Phrase guide
Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.
Sound
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noun
A step or action that is too ambitious; an act of overreaching.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: idiomatic
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
History
In reference to Operation Market Garden, Allied airborne military operation of 1944. General Roy E. Urquhart, in his 1958 memoir Arnhem, ascribed the phrase to general Frederick “Boy” Browning. It was popularized by being chosen as the title of Cornelius Ryan’s 1974 book on Operation Market Garden and the subsequent 1977 epic war film.
