Dave's ESL Cafe's Student Discussion Forums

[shvetsov2005]

Hello,
I watched film "Home along", one guy said:

"He's acted like a jerk once too many times.."

What does it mean "once too many times"?
Is that a proper English? I would understand if there was either "once" or "too many", but how about how the combination of both?

Alex.

[MauraS]

You are right. It does sound a bit strange. But it is a real expression.

It means that he acted like a jerk a bunch of times but one, the last time, was too many. More specifically, he acted like a jerk 10 times but time 11 was too many. For example, you can accept someone's bad behaviour for a while but then you can't stand it anymore.

The expression is "one too many times." Not "once".

Hope this helps!