out of one's league

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English[edit]

Pronunciation[edit]

  • (file)

Prepositional phrase[edit]

out of one's league

  1. In a situation in which one is mismatched with one or more others whose accomplishments, preparedness, or other characteristics are on a significantly higher or lower level than one's own.
    • 1987, Patrick Swayze, Stacy Widelitz (lyrics and music), “She's Like the Wind”, performed by Patrick Swayze:
      Feel her breath in my face / Her body close to me / Can't look in her eyes / She's out of my league
    • 2008 June 3, Laura Collins-Hughes, “Neil LaBute Finds Reasons To Be Nice”, in New York Sun[1] (theatre review), archived from the original on 5 June 2008:
      He has an unwitting instructor in his cocky, bullying co-worker and pal, Kent (Pablo Schreiber), a slimeball whose knockout wife, Carly (Piper Perabo), is way out of his league.
  2. Out of one's depth; in a situation which one is poorly prepared to handle.
    These questions are out of my league, please let me ask a higher-up.
    • 1964 May 15, “Also Current (book reviews)”, in Time[2], archived from the original on 2012-03-07:
      Most U.S. authors trying to depict European sophistication seem indefinably out of their league, like children sashaying around in grown-up shoes.
  3. Too good or too expensive for one.
    An expensive car is out of your league right now, don't you think?

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