OK I give up; what the heck does "pushing the envelope" mean!!!!???

Question

and where did it originate???

Answer 1

Pushing the envelope

Meaning: To approach or exceed known performance boundaries.
Example: Your performance at work is not exactly pushing the envelope.
Origin: This expression comes out of the US Air Force test pilot program of the late 1940's.
The envelope refers to a plane's performance capabilities. The limits of the planes ability to fly at speeds and altitudes and under certain stresses define what is known as its performance envelope. It's an "envelope" in the sense that it contains the ranges of the plane's abilities.

"Pushing the envelope" originally meant flying an aircraft at, or even beyond, its known or recommended limits.

Thanks to Kensmark

A safe bet is that many who pushed the envelope crashed.

The expression was popularized by Tom Wolfe in his book "The right stuff" (1979) and later the movie of the same name.

Answer 2

"It comes from mathematics, specifically as it is used in aeroplane design. It was popularised by Tom Wolfe’s book of 1979, The Right Stuff, about test pilots and the early space programme. It’s an excellent example of the way that a bit of specialised jargon known only to a few practitioners can move into the general language."

"In mathematics, an envelope is the enclosing boundary of a set or family of curves that is touched by every curve in the system. This usage is known from the latter part of the nineteenth century. It’s also used in electrical engineering for the curve that you get when you connect the successive peaks of a wave. This envelope curve encloses or envelops all the component curves."

"In aeronautics, the envelope is the outer boundary of all the curves that describe the performance of the aircraft under various conditions of engine thrust, speed, altitude, atmospheric conditions, and the like. It is generally taken to be the known limits for the safe performance of the craft."

"Test pilots have to test (or push) these limits to establish exactly what the plane is capable of doing, and where failure is likely to occur — to compare calculated performance limits with ones derived from experience. Test pilots called this pushing the edge of the envelope in the 1950s and 1960s, but this was soon shortened."

"Following Tom Wolfe’s book and film, the phrase began to move out into the wider world; the first recorded use in the more general sense of going (or attempting to go) beyond the limits of what is known to be possible came in the late 1980s."

"PUSH THE ENVELOPE", World Wide Words : http://www.worldwidewords.org/qa/qa-pus1.htm

Answer 3

To push the envelope means to go beyond commonly accepted boundaries. It originated from the aeronautical term "the envelope", which was used to describe the accepted upper and lower limits for safe flight of various factors (speed, engine power, manoeuvrability, wind speed, altitude etc...) By 'pushing the envelope' (testing those limits), test pilots were able to determine exactly how far they could extend those limits and still guarantee safety. In 1978, the phrase was first seen in print in Aviation Week & Space Technology magazine.
In 1979, the phrase was used by Tom Wolfe in his book "The Right Stuff", and it moved from the realm of specialist technical jargon into the general language.

Answer 4

meaning of "push the envelope"

1. To increase the operating capabilities of a technological system.

2. To exceed the existing limits in a certain field; be innovative.

Origin:

This idiom comes from aviation, the envelope alluding to the technical limits of a plane's performance, which, on a graph, appear as a rising slope as limits of speed and stress are approached and falls off when the capacity is exceeded and the pilot loses control; safety lies within these limits, or envelope, and exceeding them exposes pilot and plane to risk.

Answer 5

'To push the envelope' -- Exceed the limits of what is normally done, be innovative, as in They are pushing the envelope in using only new fabrics for winter clothing. This idiom comes from aviation, the envelope alluding to the technical limits of a plane's performance, which, on a graph, appear as a rising slope as limits of speed and stress are approached and falls off when the capacity is exceeded and the pilot loses control; safety lies within these limits, or envelope, and exceeding them exposes pilot and plane to risk. [Slang; late 1960s]

Source: The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer.

Answer 6

It means exploring the edge of what is possible, and trying to go beyond it. It originated with test pilots in the 50's.