OTT
Over The Top
TRANSLATION
OTT = (Abk. für Over The Top) übertrieben, extrem --- GOOGLE INDEX OTT: approximately 900,000 hits
STATISTICS
IN THE PRESS
"Up until this incident I was loving it. You have ups and downs with players and clubs... but it is getting OTT."
(English football referee who quit officiating because of player and fan abuse)
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The anti smoking debate is all a bit OTT.
(BBC)
(English football referee who quit officiating because of player and fan abuse)
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The anti smoking debate is all a bit OTT.
(BBC)
Did you
know?
OTT (over the top)
adjective
- extreme, excessive or outrageous
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WORD ORIGIN
Many films of World War I battles show soldiers leaving the safety of their trenches in order to attack the enemy. This manoeuvre was referred to as going "over the top," and literally meant climbing out of a trench or hole and charging across so-called "no man's land," a strip of ground that was small as 30 metres and sometimes as long as a few kilometres.
The order to go over the top was one of the most feared, because it meant being exposed to deadly rifle and machine-gun fire.
Perhaps in part because this was considered an extreme operation, and given that figuratively speaking going over the top implies reaching an extreme level, this expression is now used in a general sense to describe a situation or behaviour that is considered excessive, oftentimes in a negative way. The abbreviation OTT is used in informal discussions.
There is hardly any part of society that is exempt from OTT behaviour.
Professional sports has given us abundant examples for instance. Zinedine Zidane's head butt during the 2006 World Cup final is just one of many.
The music industry? One need not search far. Many television viewers were outraged when Madonna exchanged "steamy" kisses with fellow superstars Britney Spears and Christina Aguilera during the 2003 MTV Music Awards.
Politics? We would like to believe that our elected officials know how to behave, but former Russian First Secretary Nikita Khrushchev's outburst at a 1960 United Nations session, in which he banged a shoe on the desk, is proof that even Heads-of-State can go OTT.
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SYNONYMS
excessive, extreme, exorbitant, out of bounds, over the line, out of line, beyond the pale
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SMUGGLE OWAD INTO TODAY'S CONVERSATION:
"The salaries of some CEO's really are OTT."
adjective
- extreme, excessive or outrageous
---
WORD ORIGIN
Many films of World War I battles show soldiers leaving the safety of their trenches in order to attack the enemy. This manoeuvre was referred to as going "over the top," and literally meant climbing out of a trench or hole and charging across so-called "no man's land," a strip of ground that was small as 30 metres and sometimes as long as a few kilometres.
The order to go over the top was one of the most feared, because it meant being exposed to deadly rifle and machine-gun fire.
Perhaps in part because this was considered an extreme operation, and given that figuratively speaking going over the top implies reaching an extreme level, this expression is now used in a general sense to describe a situation or behaviour that is considered excessive, oftentimes in a negative way. The abbreviation OTT is used in informal discussions.
There is hardly any part of society that is exempt from OTT behaviour.
Professional sports has given us abundant examples for instance. Zinedine Zidane's head butt during the 2006 World Cup final is just one of many.
The music industry? One need not search far. Many television viewers were outraged when Madonna exchanged "steamy" kisses with fellow superstars Britney Spears and Christina Aguilera during the 2003 MTV Music Awards.
Politics? We would like to believe that our elected officials know how to behave, but former Russian First Secretary Nikita Khrushchev's outburst at a 1960 United Nations session, in which he banged a shoe on the desk, is proof that even Heads-of-State can go OTT.
---
SYNONYMS
excessive, extreme, exorbitant, out of bounds, over the line, out of line, beyond the pale
---
SMUGGLE OWAD INTO TODAY'S CONVERSATION:
"The salaries of some CEO's really are OTT."
