be higher than a kite
1. To be very intoxicated by alcohol or (especially) drugs. I tried tutoring him in math, but he was always higher than a kite when I came by.
2. To be elated or euphorically happy. I was higher than a kite when I found out I got into Stanford.
set a high/low bar
To establish an expected, required, or desired (but ultimately constrictive) standard of quality. A: "At this point, I'm willing to go out with just about any guy, so long as he isn't living in his parents' basement." B: "Don't you think you're setting a bit of a low bar?" While you shouldn't take just any job you can get after college, be sure not to set too high a bar for an entry level job, or you may have trouble landing one at all.
set the bar (high/low)
To establish an expected, required, or desired standard of quality. (Often said of a standard that is constrictive in being either too low or too high). A: "At this point, I'm willing to go out with just about any guy, so long as he isn't living in his parents' basement." B: "Don't you think you're setting the bar a little low?" While you shouldn't take just any job you can get after college, be sure not to set the bar too high for an entry level job, or you may have trouble landing one at all. I hear that the new restaurant around the corner really sets the bar for exquisite seafood.
higher than a kite
1. Very intoxicated by alcohol or (especially) drugs. I tried tutoring him in math, but he was always higher than a kite when I came by.
2. Elated; euphorically happy. I was higher than a kite when I found out I got into my first choice school.
higher than Gilderoy's kite
Extremely high; so high that it can hardly be seen. "Gilderoy" was the nickname of notorious 17th-century highwayman Patrick MacGregor, who was hanged at a time when the height of the gallows corresponded to the severity of a criminal's misdeeds. Thus, MacGregor was hanged higher than his accomplices—like a kite in the sky. Why did you put the dishes on a shelf higher than Gilderoy's kite? You know I can't reach anything up there! A: "Can you see the plane?" B: "It's higher than Gilderoy's kite! All I see is a tiny speck!"