What does the phrase 'push the envelope' mean?

Question

Whats in the envelope and who is it being pushed towards?

(Serious Answers optional)

Answer 1

Optional serious answer:

Term derives from testing jet aircraft in the late 1950s and early 1960s. An aircraft wing will fly only within a specific range of conditions which include things like airspeed, angle of attack, weight, and so forth. The range within which the wing would fly safely was called the envelope. The phrase "pushing the envelope" comes from test pilots flying the airplane at very very close to the limits. The objective was to physically verify what the mathematics predicted the performance of the aircraft would be.

Answer 2

... serious answers optional? Pushing the envelope means doing a better job than anyone else, "going the extra mile," doing more than your job requires of you. Maybe they once notified people of promotion through letters given in nice little envelopes that the boss would push across his desk to the person being promoted.

Answer 3

Pushing the envelope is to exceed the accepted physical/mental limitations, or exceeding what is commonly accepted as the safe limitations of the capabilities known or believed to be known for any endeavor to the point of risking oneselves, or others, safety/life/limb.

http://www.phrases.org.uk/meanings/push-the-envelope.html

Answer 4

when people use p.o box they throw thw letters inside it and leave it to the destiny which may deliver it or not so you should do what you can and 'push the envelope' and wait for what's gonna happen !!!!

Answer 5

it means to explore the boundaries of your endeavors and try to excel in a way that goes beyond the enclosure that constrains you. another way of going out of the box which is the current buzz phrase.

Answer 6

it means take it to the limit

Answer 7

work too hard

over work

strain yourself

Answer 8

i dont know