I heard a commentator describe the amount of United States governmental debt to be “beyond the pale.” Charles Funk’s book about expressions explains that pale was used in the early days of English history to describe an area under governmental control defined by paling, which is a fence made with wooden stakes called pales. The expression originally defined areas outside of control, which made the areas attractive to rogues. The worldwideword web site explains that the expression evolved to mean actions that are outside the limits of acceptable behavior. 

The Pickwick Papers written by Charles Dickens in 1837 has one of his characters saying to another, “I look upon you, sir, as a man who has placed himself beyond the pale of society, by his most audacious, disgraceful, and abominable public conduct.”