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The McCain camp thought the interview with Campbell was "over the line."
What's that mean? Dictionary was no help.
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I don’t know the context here or even who Campbell is but the phrase could mean the interview was “unfair” or “over the line of decency” (or civility).
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"Over the line" or "crossing the line" means going too far in a figurative sense -- being rude, tasteless, deliberative provocative, etc. You won't find it in a dictionary because it's a saying, not an individual word.
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Thanks Uriel.
I loved Campbell ever since ;o)
Oh, speaking of the phrase 'crossing the lines," with Walmart almost imposing on its employees to vote for a certain party, I remember an analyst/attorney saying that "Walmart walked up to the line but didn't cross it."
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The origin of the expression may actually come from a physical act. In the old days, a guy would sometimes challenge another by drawing a line in the dirt at his feet, and telling his adversary that if they crossed that line, it was on (there would be a fight). In a literal sense, he was challenging them to invade his personal space, and so instigate a fistfight. "Lines in the sand" is another phrase relating to figurative boundaries that harks back to this practice.
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