push the envelope

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• Received-Pronunciation: /ˌpʊʃ ðiː ˈɛnvələʊp/
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• Received-Pronunciation: /-ˈɒnv(ə)ləʊp/
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• General-American: /ˌpʊʃ ði ˈɛnvəˌloʊp/
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• General-American: /-ˈɑn-/
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• Australia: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
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From push (“to continually exert oneself in order to achieve a goal”) + the + envelope (“set of limitations within which a technological system can perform safely and effectively”) (compare flight envelope), referring to the boundary line on a graph of an aircraft’s capabilities, especially those of altitude and speed. The term was popularized by the book The Right Stuff (1979) by the American author and journalist Tom Wolfe (1930–2018) about the pilots engaged in United States postwar research with experimental rocket-powered, high-speed aircraft, and the first Project Mercury astronauts selected for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration’s human spaceflight program.

7 source translations are retained for this English entry.

• Finnish: koetella rajoja — to go beyond established limits — see also pioneer
• Finnish: rikkoa rajoja — to go beyond established limits — see also pioneer
• German: bis an die Grenze gehen — to go beyond established limits — see also pioneer
• Irish: iomairí nua a threabhadh — to go beyond established limits — see also pioneer
• Polish: jechać po bandzie — to go beyond established limits — see also pioneer
• Polish: pojechać po bandzie — to go beyond established limits — see also pioneer
• Swedish: tänja på gränserna — to go beyond established limits — see also pioneer