be over the top
To be or be seen as excessive. A massive birthday party with princesses and pony rides is a little over the top for a one-year-old, don't you think? She hardly knew my grandfather, so her bawling at the funeral was definitely over the top. That movie was intentionally over the top, and I think it worked—especially when that guy fought the bear.
go over the top
1. To move over the fortification surrounding a trench in trench warfare. If your men go over the top right now, it will be suicide! We need to wait for air cover, first. I grabbed the private so he wouldn't go over the top and get caught in the line of fire. We need to wait for the right opportunity to go over the top and ambush the enemy.
2. To go beyond a certain limit, threshold, goal, or quota. I had only hoped to sell 10 boxes of candy, so I easily went over the top when my family members got wind of the fundraiser. Look, if we can just find one more generous donor, we'll go over the top here. We'll go over the top if we can just copy two more files.
3. To engage in excessive, flamboyant, campy, or outrageous style or behavior, often purposefully so. Even by slasher movie standards, this film goes way over the top with its blood and gore. I just thought the lead actor went over the top. It kind of ruined the play for me. Let's not go over the top here. A one-year-old doesn't need a massive birthday party with princesses and pony rides.
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms. © 2024 Farlex, Inc, all rights reserved.