The idiom beyond the pale preserves an otherwise archaic sense of pale—namely, a region or district lying within an imposed boundary—so beyond the pale means outside the bounds. In modern use the idiom is usually metaphorical, meaning (1) beyond the bounds of civilized behavior, or (2) bizarre. Modern writers often use the phrase to mean abhorrent, but this is a little extreme.
Beyond the pail is a common misspelling. Considered literally, something beyond the pail is past the bucket.
Example
These writers use beyond the pale well:
Even his name somehow conjures up the time of “here be dragons” and regions beyond the pale of elegant society. [Wall Street Journal]
The Maple Leafs’ jersey, as Carrier had discovered, was simply beyond the pale. [Montreal Gazette]
Among the most devastating consequences of the U.S. failure to confront and punish torture is the way in which torture—long considered beyond the pale—has now been mainstreamed. [NPR]
Tony Abbott and his immigration spokesman, Scott Morrison, got caught going beyond the pale in their pursuit of electoral advantage. [Sydney Morning Herald]
“Sufferers” like these lived beyond the pale, criminalised by their taste for marijuana, rendered invisible by blackness and poverty. [Telegraph]