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Origin documented
“Go the extra mile”
What it means
To do more than is required.
Where it comes from
Roman law permitted a soldier to compel a provincial to carry his equipment for one mile. The instruction to carry it two turns a legal obligation into a voluntary act.
How sure are we?
From Matthew’s gospel, and the Roman right of angaria that lies behind it is genuine. The Roman mile of a thousand paces is also the direct ancestor of the English one.