Brewer's: Measure

Out of all measure. “Outre mesure.” Beyond all reasonable degree,Præter (or supra) modum.”

“Thus out of measure sad.” —Shakespeare: Much Ado About Nothing, i. 3.

To take the measure of one's foot.
To ascertain how far a person will venture; to make a shrewd guess of another's character. The allusion is to “Ex pede Herculem.”
Source: Dictionary of Phrase and Fable, E. Cobham Brewer, 1894
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