Why 'beyond the pale'

asks Miss Don:

A. 'Beyond the pale' means means outside the limits of what is considered civilised behaviour.

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Q. What is a 'pale'
A. It's from the Latin palus, a stake, and is a long, thin piece of wood which is pointed at the top and which is used for fencing (paling). Therefore, a pale is any area that has been fenced in.

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Q. So what is beyond the pale
A. Any area which is not fenced in - i.e. a wild, uncultivated region.

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Q. Nothing to do with Ireland, then
A. Sometimes it is associated specifically with the historical Pale in Ireland.

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Q. What's that
A. An area which varies in size from time to time, which was under English law and administration from the 12th century. Originally, it was Louth, Meath, Trim, Dublin, Kilkenny, Wexford, Waterford and Tipperary. By the end of the 15th century it had been reduced to Louth, Meath, Dublin and Kildare, and continued to shrink until Ireland was taken over by the Tudors. The earliest reference to the Pale is in 1547, when Andrew Boorde contrasts the two parts of Ireland: the English Pale and the 'wyld Irysh'.

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Q. Can you give some examples of how the phrase is used
A. Recent ones are:

• Fashion: 'No-one in their right minds would have bought ski pants since 1989. They did creep back on to the catwalk in a very small way this year, but in general they are well beyond the pale.' Fashion expert Sarah Mower in the Financial Times
• Farming: 'Foot-and-mouth really is beyond the pale for them [farmers].' Tony Blair in The Herald
• Internet: 'The internet is freeing up discussion of subjects that were once beyond the pale.' Dutch filmmaker Fred Pelon in The Independent
• North/south divide: 'Hull is beyond the pale as far as London journalists are concerned.' Letter in The Independent
• Sport: 'This calamitous collision of flying fists, flashing blades and indiscriminate stick-handling went well beyond the pale.' Ice hockey report in the Daily Mail.

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By Sheena Miller