[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, adobe-helvetica, Arial Narrow]"[/FONT][FONT=Arial, Helvetica, adobe-helvetica, Arial Narrow]Toe[/FONT][FONT=Arial, Helvetica, adobe-helvetica, Arial Narrow] the Line," [/FONT][FONT=Arial, Helvetica, adobe-helvetica, Arial Narrow]NOT[/FONT][FONT=Arial, Helvetica, adobe-helvetica, Arial Narrow] "[/FONT][FONT=Arial, Helvetica, adobe-helvetica, Arial Narrow]Tow[/FONT][FONT=Arial, Helvetica, adobe-helvetica, Arial Narrow] the Line"[/FONT]
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[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, adobe-helvetica, Arial Narrow]by [/FONT][FONT=Arial, Helvetica, adobe-helvetica, Arial Narrow]Tina Blue[/FONT]
[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, adobe-helvetica, Arial Narrow]August 14, 2003[/FONT]
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[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, adobe-helvetica, Arial Narrow]I saw it again today, this time in a comment on an article on a political website. It referred to reporters who mindlessly "tow the administration's line."[/FONT]
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[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, adobe-helvetica, Arial Narrow]Um, that should be "toe the line."[/FONT]
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[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, adobe-helvetica, Arial Narrow]A lot of people who don't know the origin of the phrase picture someone pulling a rope, cord, or some other "line"--"tow the line"--as a way of working for whomever the "line" belongs to. Thus, if the administration has a "line"--[/FONT][FONT=Arial, Helvetica, adobe-helvetica, Arial Narrow]i.e.[/FONT][FONT=Arial, Helvetica, adobe-helvetica, Arial Narrow], a "party line"--then those who side with the administration help to pull it ("tow" it) along.[/FONT]
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[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, adobe-helvetica, Arial Narrow]Wrong.[/FONT]
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[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, adobe-helvetica, Arial Narrow]The phrase "toe the line" is equivalent to "toe the mark," both of which mean to conform to a rule or a standard. [/FONT][FONT=Arial, Helvetica, adobe-helvetica, Arial Narrow]The Oxford Dictionary of Word Histories [/FONT][FONT=Arial, Helvetica, adobe-helvetica, Arial Narrow](Oxford: Oxford Univ. Press, 2002; ed. by Glynnis Chantrell) says, "The idiom [/FONT][FONT=Arial, Helvetica, adobe-helvetica, Arial Narrow]toe the line[/FONT][FONT=Arial, Helvetica, adobe-helvetica, Arial Narrow] from an athletics analogy originated in the early 19th century" (514). [/FONT]
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The specific sport referred to is foot-racing, where the competitors must keep their feet behind a "line" or on a "mark" at the start of the race--as in "On your mark, get set, [/FONT]
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[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, adobe-helvetica, Arial Narrow]So one who "toes the line" is one who does not allow his foot to stray over the line. In other words, one who does not stray beyond a rigidly defined boundary.[/FONT]