Verge of Obstruction

The verge of obstruction can be traced back to an unspecified time in history when people of authority were very much not unlike people of authority today. Back in these times the leaders, whoever they may or may not have been, would often carry with them staffs—partly as a sign of authority, but mostly to beat up anyone who didn't agree with them, who they didn't like, or who just happened to be walking by at the time.

The first step towards this pummeling, if proper etiquette was observed (and the people of authority always adhered strictly to this etiquette as it was ignoble to impolitely beat someone to death), was to use this staff as a means to block the person's path. This obstruction by the leader yielding the verge was then the first sign that the given individual was about to receive a blow to the head.

Due to the penchant of rulers to whimsically assault and batter their populace, the staff itself soon became known as the verge of obstruction. People during this era were oft to lament a family member's death "on the verge of obstruction".

The leaders soon tired of having to carry the staff out into public to injure others, so they resorted to building palaces where they could have individuals brought to them. This practice led directly to the phrase "carried to the verge of obstruction"; as in, "Poor Harry, he was carried to the verge of obstruction and I never saw him again".

Eventually the staff was abandoned in favor of more efficient and less physically exertive methods of killing, but the phrases persisted; finally coming into modern language as a means of describing politicians.

Thus, a political leader that finishes speaking and defers time to one of his or her colleagues has "passed the verge of obstruction" (meaning he or she is currently finished lying and has given this task to someone else), while a politician that has been caught in a deception has "hit the verge of obstruction" (that is, they've injured themselves with their lies).

One alternative usage exists that describes an otherwise normal person behaving like a politician or otherwise acting arrogantly or authoritarian. This phrase, "sitting on the verge of obstruction", is usually considered an insult and implies a certain level of annoyance by the person making it. Thus, the statement "Linda was really sitting on the verge of obstruction yesterday", is meant to mean the speaker felt that Linda was acting in a manner that the speaker thought was obnoxious and bossy.