IdiomDaily LifeFrench

Pousser le bouchon un peu loin

Meaning: To go too far; to overstep.

Literally: To push the cork a bit far

Example: “Demander une augmentation après deux jours de travail, tu pousses le bouchon un peu loin.” — Asking for a raise after two days on the job is going a bit too far.

English equivalent: To overstep the mark

Equivalents in other languages

Origin: From the game of boules, where the bouchon is the small target jack. Throwing it too far makes the game unreasonable for everyone, which is exactly the complaint the phrase registers.

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