Definition
To abide by the rules or conventions; (politics, in particular) to follow the party line.
To stand at one's mark before a footrace.
To be on a boundary or in a grey area between two states.
Origins
Unknown, with multiple competing etymologies and some theorizing the phrasing originated from the United States and others the United Kingdom.
In Context
- "Television shows these days do not always toe the line of decency and common sense."
- "The matter, therefore, necessarily became rather serious; and the whole gang of us being sent for on the quarter deck, we were ranged in a line, each with his toes at the edge of a plank, according to the orthodox fashion of these gregarious scoldings, technically called ‘toe-the-line matches.’"
- "JOHNNY. I dont know. You can draw a line and make other chaps toe it. Thats what I call morality. LORD SUMMERHAYS. Very true. But you dont make any progress when youre toeing a line."
- "“Well,” said Birkin, “I begin to think that you can’t live unless you keep entirely out of the line. It’s no good trying to toe the line, when your one impulse is to smash up the line. Winnie is a special nature, and for special natures you must give a special world.”"
- "BUILDER. [Staring at her across the table] You've got my temper up and you'll take the consequences. I'll make you toe the line. MAUD. If you knew what a Prussian expression you've got!"
- "Gob, Jack made him toe the line. Told him if he didn’t patch up the pot, Jesus, he’d kick the shite out of him."
- "And I can't spend my whole life trying / Just to make you toe the line"
- "Last week, he'd told her he was hiring a detective to make sure she ‘toed the line’ on her own in New York."
- "Boris Johnson's staff told to toe the line on Brexit [title]"
- "Alberto Salazar is one of the most famous athletes to have toed the line at this great race."
- "Her stories often toe the line between fact and fiction."
- "Still other performers like St. Louis's Nelly or Long Beach's Domino toed the line between rapper and singer, defying easy categorization."
- "Although the ICA toes the line between good and evil, it is similar to many other espionage organizations in action films — including some recent ones."
- "Monica flirted with her outrageously, but Deosil made a point of toeing the line between flirting and actually sleeping with festival folk. That never ended well."
- "The conflicts between tradition and cultural change also play out in the protagonists' personal lives, and the show is not afraid to make its audience uncomfortable, especially when it forces characters to toe the line between being an insider or outsider."