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The sky's the limit

Posted by Gary Martin on February 29, 2008 at 10:52:

In Reply to: The sky's the limit posted by Ana Bautista on February 29, 2008 at 10:43:

: Would you care to clarify the origin of the phrase "The sky's the limit"? Because I was told it came from the translation into English of "El ingenioso hidalgo Don Quijote de la Mancha" by Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra

Cervantes is often credited with coining English phrases that don't appear in his work and 'the sky's the limit' is one of those. These are usually phrases which were already in use in English when Don Quixote was first translated into the language in the early 17th century.

No researcher has yet found any citation of 'the sky's the limit' that predates 20th century America. There may be earlier citations but I would be surprised if anyone finds one from three hundred years earlier. I'm confident that the information given on the link below is correct.


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