This shows how to chop a long list into a maximum size and put the rest in a new list. It's not exactly what you're asking about, but it may be what you really want:
>>> list1 = [10, 20, 30, 40, 50, 60, 70]
>>> max_size = 5
>>> list2 = list1[max_size:]
>>> list2
[60, 70]
>>> list1 = list1[:max_size]
>>> list1
[10, 20, 30, 40, 50]
This is more like what you're asking about, basically the same, but taking the new list from the end:
>>> list1 = [10, 20, 30, 40, 50, 60, 70]
>>> list2 = list1[:max_size]
>>> list2
[10, 20, 30, 40, 50]
>>> list2 = list1[-max_size:]
>>> list2
[30, 40, 50, 60, 70]
>>> list1 = list1[:-max_size]
>>> list1
[10, 20]
>>>
