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Posted: 11/16/2006 7:46:08 AM EDT
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OK, I am not going to edit this out. Google would have been my friend, did I look NO. Did I learn a valuable lesson YES. Is there something for everone here to learn YEP. Was I wrong YOU BET.  At least some people got a laught at my expence.  For the love of GOD, please stop using this term incorrectly. What you are trying to say is TOW the Party Line. Have you ever seen a TOE Truck pull a car out of a ditch. NO it was a TOW truck. Think about it! Even if you are making a valid and good point, you look like an idiot! This PSA brought to you by Doctor Scholls... |
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Toe the line From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia "Toe the line" is an idiomatic expression with disputed origins. It is often equated to "toe the mark," which has the same meaning: to conform to a rule or a standard. One documented origin of the phrase is as an athletics analogy originated in the early 19th century. Other suggested origins are the center line in boxing which boxers were instructed to toe at the start of each round, or the lines created by deck planks on ships which naval crews used to “fall in line”. The longest running use of the phrase, often mentioned by tourist guides, is from the British House of Commons where sword strapped members were instructed to stand behind lines that were better than a sword’s length from their political rivals. Thus the cry to “toe the line!” was echoed to return order to the House and to quell a potential mortal conflict. See also In modern usage, it appears often in the context of partisan or factional politics, as in, "He's toeing the party line." This also justifies the case for its origination from a political body, namely the British House of Commons. 
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www.grammartips.homestead.com/toetheline.html "Toe the Line," NOT "Tow the Line" by Tina Blue August 14, 2003 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." Um, that should be "toe the line." 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"--i.e., a "party line"--then those who side with the administration help to pull it ("tow" it) along. Wrong. The phrase "toe the line" is equivalent to "toe the mark," both of which mean to conform to a rule or a standard. The Oxford Dictionary of Word Histories (Oxford: Oxford Univ. Press, 2002; ed. by Glynnis Chantrell) says, "The idiom toe the line from an athletics analogy originated in the early 19th century" (514). 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, go!" 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. |
Pwned. |
I hope you were kidding.  
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expense! 
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