go beyond , get/go beyond a joke, beyond (OUTSIDE A LIMIT)

Head of Senate Panel Seeks Hearing on Wiretaps
By ERIC LICHTBLAU and JAMES RISEN
Senator Dianne Feinstein called for the hearing after new reports that the National Security Agency went beyond its authorization.

Definition

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beyond (OUTSIDE A LIMIT) Show phonetics
preposition, adverb
1 outside or after (a stated limit):
Few people live beyond the age of a hundred.
We cannot allow the work to continue beyond the end of the year.
I've got nothing to tell you beyond (= in addition to) what I told you earlier.
The repercussions will be felt throughout the industry and beyond (= in other areas).
His thoughtlessness is beyond belief (= is so great that it is impossible to believe).
LITERARY Her beauty is beyond compare (= is so great that nothing can be compared to it).
Tonight's performance has been cancelled due to circumstances beyond our control (= events which we are unable to deal with).
She has always lived beyond her means (= spent more than she has earned).
He survived the accident, but his car was damaged beyond repair (= damaged so badly it could not be repaired).

2 INFORMAL If something is beyond you, you are unable to understand it:
I'm afraid physics is completely beyond me.

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get/go beyond a joke
to start to become annoying or worrying:
I don't mind helping her out occasionally, but this is getting beyond a joke.