Raise the Bar

What it means

Set a higher standard that everyone coming afterwards now has to meet.

Where it comes from

The bar belongs to the high jump, lifted after each round until only one competitor is left. The metaphor is honest about the consequence, which is that eventually everybody stops clearing it.

The puzzle it came from

Raise the Bar was the answer to the Phrasicle of June 23, 2025. The clue read ____ the ____, and the words came out of a grid where every neighbouring pair makes a two-word phrase.

Play today's Phrasicle Play the June 23, 2025 puzzle

Phrases like this one

• Raise the Roof