Just a little quibble about a common mistake I've been seeing on a number of blogs lately, and it's common enough in general to be worthy of mention (seeing as I am a badge-carrying member of the grammar police and all that!)
A lot of people have been writing "tow the line" to refer to the concept of conforming to a set standard (most commonly now, it's "t** the party line" or "the feminist line" or some such variant of speaking/believing approved viewpoints only).
I am at a loss as to what the possible derivation of such a phrase could be. I note that there is such a thing as a "tow line", which is the rope or cable used to tow something else (originally nautical, it would have been a ship, but I am sure that I have seen the term used in motoring for towing another car). However, how this would give rise to a meaning of following when the verb is "I am towing" (which implies being the one in the lead!) is beyond me.
However, if one were to toe the line, there is a clear derivation. This article explains it quite clearly. To toe the line is to line up appropriately at the start of a running race. There's also possible military discipline derivation (the article linked talks about naval punishment; the wikipedia entry says that there is a literal usage still in the US Army training schools), and there's a popular story (also mentioned on both wikipedia and the other article I linked) that it refers to the British Parliament convention of the two sides staying behind their own lines.
Anyway - thinking about the modern usage, of "toeing the party line", which is about staying "on message", it is slightly removed from the idea of conforming to a set standard (although there is that implication in the idea of being on message). However, if we think of a line drawn where one side is okay and the other side is Not Allowed in terms of topics or ideas, then to toe the line is again to stay behind that line in the "okay" section - although there is a slight connotation in that image of wanting to cut loose and leave the "okay" section (otherwise, why stand right on the edge, with one's toes just behind the line?) Given that the usage of "I toed the line" or "I won't toe the line any more" to imply having had to exercise self-restraint (or being restrained by others) is common, I think this is actually a fair connotation to bear in mind!
So, yes. Whatever you're towing on your line, when you conform to a set standard (of thought, speech, expression, etc) you are toeing the line!
0 things wot people said:
Post a Comment
Comments Moderation Policy
This blog is intended to be a place where I can develop my thoughts freely and get free and honest responses. Essentially, it is my safe space, and for that reason I have elected to maintain this blog as a moderated space. However, I am opposed in general to censorship and believe that usually the best way to kill a bad idea is with a better one, so very few comments will be rejected. Comments designed to cause offence for the sake of it (e.g. abusive or inflammatory remarks with no other content), or else those that I feel cross a boundary of human decency, are most likely to be rejected.