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How to Cite
Hendrickson, Robert. "above one's bend." Writer's Reference Center. Facts On File, Inc. Web. 18 Apr. 2025. <http://fofweb.infobase.com/wrc/Detail.aspx?iPin=DOAR00017>.
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above one's bend

Region
South

Definition 
Used in the South and West, this expression meaning "beyond one's ability, limit or capacity" has its origins in a phrase Shakespeare used in Hamlet: "To the top of one's bent." The "bent," according to the Oxford English Dictionary, refers to the "extent to which a bow may be bent or a spring wound up, degree of tension; hence degree of endurance, capacity for taking in or receiving …"

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