beyond one's pay grade
English edit
Alternative forms edit
Etymology edit
Possibly from the correspondence of pay grade to level of authority in U.S. civil service and in the U.S. armed forces.
Pronunciation edit
Audio (AU) (file)
Prepositional phrase edit
- (idiomatic) Beyond one's level of authority.
- 1971, Testimony before U.S. Congress. Senate. Committee on Armed Services,
- Sir, I think that is a policy decision only the President can make. That is beyond my pay grade.
- 1971, Testimony before U.S. Congress. Senate. Committee on Armed Services,
- (idiomatic) Beyond one's capability.
- 2007, Los Angeles Times:
- Figuring out how it would work logistically is above and beyond my pay grade and my brain power.
Translations edit
beyond the speaker's authority
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