French Etymology Literally, “to go beyond the bollards”. Pronunciation IPA(key): /de.pa.se le bɔʁn/ Audio:(file) Verb dépasser les bornes (informal) to cross the line, to go too far, to overstep the mark, to go beyond the pale, to go off the reservation Synonym: exagérer Alternative forms passer les bornes (rare)Wikiwand - on Seamless Wikipedia browsing. On steroids.