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You are here: Home / Language / What Does the Expression “Pushing the Envelope” Mean and Where Did it Come From?

What Does the Expression “Pushing the Envelope” Mean and Where Did it Come From?

April 26, 2020 by Karen Hill

“Pushing the envelope” is an aviation expression that refers to how test pilots received instructions to challenge the known limits of flight.

These instructions, if not a death sentence, were very often a flirtation with disaster.

The gravity of issuing such an order was understood but not spoken.

Instead, the impersonal assignment came within an envelope, silently slid or pushed across a desk from one man to another.

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Filed Under: Language

About Karen Hill

Karen Hill is a freelance writer, editor, and columnist. Born in New York, her work has appeared in the Examiner, Yahoo News, Buzzfeed, among others.

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