{
  "id": "crossed-the-line.threshold",
  "term": "crossed the line",
  "sense": "threshold",
  "pos": "noun",
  "status": "review",
  "level": 18,
  "arena": "behavior",
  "domain": "social",
  "style": "folk",
  "definition": "A parameter has moved across a wall that marks the edge of a window, but the parts remain and no removal occurred — the thing persists in a new state on the other side of what was previously allowed.",
  "folk_gloss": "People say this when someone has gone too far and passed a limit.",
  "emergence": {
    "components": [
      "window.range",
      "wall.range-end",
      "parameter.condition",
      "persist.continue",
      "cross.symbol"
    ],
    "interaction": "crossed without removal",
    "novel_properties": [
      "new-state-on-other-side"
    ]
  },
  "examples": [
    {
      "text": "In 2003, the Northeast Blackout began when a tree branch in Ohio crossed into a high-voltage transmission corridor, triggering cascading failures across the grid.",
      "domain": "engineering"
    },
    {
      "text": "The Aral Sea's shoreline receded past the 40-meter depth threshold by 1987, exposing seabed and ending commercial fishing in the region.",
      "domain": "environment"
    },
    {
      "text": "On May 7, 1997, the UK's Treasury lost control of inflation targeting when CPI exceeded 3% for three consecutive months, breaching the policy band.",
      "domain": "economics"
    }
  ],
  "relations": [],
  "used_by": [],
  "forms": [
    "cross the line",
    "crossed the line"
  ],
  "closed": false,
  "provenance": {
    "author": "phrases:qwen/qwen3-235b-a22b-2507",
    "date": "2026-07-29",
    "confidence": 0.7,
    "sources": [
      "folk phrase — crossing without removal"
    ]
  },
  "canonical": "https://emergencemachine.com/tools/lexicon/what-is-the-meaning-of-crossed-the-line.threshold"
}