Mine is tow the line rather than toe the line.
I imagine someone as a tugboat–towing the line of what is expected. I like that imagery better than keeping a foot on some fucking line. Plus using toe as a verb is dumb.
What are yours?
Mine is tow the line rather than toe the line.
I imagine someone as a tugboat–towing the line of what is expected. I like that imagery better than keeping a foot on some fucking line. Plus using toe as a verb is dumb.
What are yours?
The same dynamic I was discussing appears in that case as well. The politician may not agree with the policy, and may be willing to violate it, but still toes the party line.
If someone was doing something somewhat shady, but still keeping within the bounds of some rule, you might say they are similarly toeing that line.
The big question to me has become, can you toe a line in a positive way?
Positive would probably be more commonly seen as an after effect I would think. “It’s good that we toed the line here or we’d have had trouble.”
I think it’s because it’s generally given as guidance beforehand (which doesn’t necessitate positive or negative) and evaluated for positive or negative afterward.
Yes. People within the party think it’s positive to “toe the party line”. Anyone conforming to what you think is positive is “toeing the line” in a way you’d find positive.
Except that in my experience, even a supporter of said party, when talking about how a member of ours “just toes the line” is communicating a negative, not a positive. That’s not a good, genuine guy we’re proud of, it’s someone to watch out for.
Colloquially too, the way I was raised, it’s a bad thing, you did not want to be a line-toer. And I’m not referring to discussions of politics, but how it was used in day to day conversation. I’ve been accused of toeing lines, for instance, with the implication being that continuing may get me in trouble some day and I should be a little more careful.
Perhaps it’s a regional thing.
I don’t necessarily think it is regional. I think it’s contextual. Within the party someone might be told “we need you to toe the line” if that person has been known to go rogue. It depends on what the line being toed is and the speakers thoughts on that line.
LOL. Its ok to just be wrong sometimes mate.
But it’s also OK to seek more information about a topic you were incorrect about. We shouldn’t chastise what seems to be genuine curiosity.