Guess the Definition

[Server Room Gremlin]

Here to be 'beyond the Pale' would be to be beyond the boundaries of English law, outside their jurisdiction.

 

[Eljorahir]

Pale: a pointed piece of wood used in making a fence (not a "picket" but it does serve the same purpose).

That would seem to explain the meaning of the more common word impaled.

If you slip while climbing such a fence you might become impaled (on a pale).

 

[Deimos]

That would seem to explain the meaning of the more common word impaled.

If you slip while climbing such a fence you might become impaled (on a pale).

'Zaaaactly

The English word "impale" dates back to the 1520s.
It originally meant "to enclose with stakes" or "fence in" (derived from the Middle French empaler and that word from Latin palus (as noted in my earlier post).
An area was "impaled"; that is enclosed by palings.
The specific sense of "piercing with a pointed stake" came into use during the 1600s.**

But wait! There's more! 😁
palisade (root word again being palus) can also mean a [military] defensive barrier traditionally made of those sharpened sticks, often capped with iron.

**The use of the word in English should not confused with the concept of using impalement as a means of torture and execution.
That lovely form of entertainment, originating in the Near East, dates back at least 3000 years

 

[Backyard Professor]

Does it go around the shoulders?