forbidden ground

“Lucky for you then, Handel,” said Herbert, “that you are picked out for her and allotted to her. Without encroaching on forbidden ground, we may venture to say that there can be no doubt between ourselves of that fact. Have you any idea yet, of Estella’s views on the adoration question?”

He did not answer, and I was aware again of that feeling of discomfort, as though I had trespassed on forbidden ground.

I remember that visiting a gay bar or resort had an electric charge, because I was traversing forbidden ground.

When his father died in 2013, Chris began to clear out his office in the attic — forbidden ground to him and his siblings when they were kids — and uncovered hundreds of books, published and unpublished, under a sheen of dust, mouse nests and the shed skins of snakes.

Hawkers and itinerant purveyors displayed their wares; photographers, both amateur and professional, elbowed their way towards the forbidden ground; while three brass bands and at least a dozen individual musicians added to the din.