Dear Kid,
Once upon a time, there were uncivilized people in the world.
No, wait, that’s now.
Once upon a time, there was the 14th century. I wasn’t alive then, but other people were, so we know what was going on even if there wasn’t social media coverage.
In the British Empire, big stakes used as fence posts were called pales. (This was because everyone in the British Empire was fair of skin so they didn’t need the word “pale” to refer to skin tone.)
In Ireland, the British built a big fence-type boundary known as the British Pale (I am not making this up). If one was within the fence one was civilized and part of acceptable society. If one ventured past the safety of the fence (beyond the pale) one was out of the civilized world and likely to be attacked by marauding leprechauns.
To this day, “beyond the pale” means anything unacceptable (like snow in April) or beyond the limits of accepted morality and conduct.
Now you know.
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