policies have outsized cruelty

[GoodTaste]

PERSPECTIVE
Professionals as Targets in the Culture Wars
S.E. Hadland
For professionals who work with children and adolescents, policies like Florida’s “Don’t Say Gay” law have outsized cruelty — even beyond the enormous harm they will do to the young people we serve.

Source: New England Journal of Medicine

I understand "policies have outsized cruelty" as "policies have been worse than cruelty". Am I on the right track?

Edit: On second thoughts, I think it means "the negative effects of policies have been more widespread than those of cruelty". Still not sure whether I am correct.

 

[emsr2d2]

Hmm, it's an odd choice of word for me. I think they're trying to say that the policies have become a bigger problem than cruelty.

 

[teechar]

have outsized cruelty

I agree that the author's choice of words is not great. Perhaps he/she meant those policies contain/incorporate immense cruelty.

 

[Skrej]

Hmm, it's an odd choice of word for me. I think they're trying to say that the policies have become a bigger problem than cruelty.

That's my interpretation too, but I still find it an odd word choice as well.

I think I would have said something like "X policy has grown beyond mere cruelty" or "has gone beyond being merely cruel" to express the idea.

GoodTaste, I think the fact that at least three native speakers (from two different variants nonetheless) find it odd suggests that you shouldn't puzzle over it too much (or emulate it).

 

[SoothingDave]

It would make more sense to say they "supersized" cruelty.