Maginot line

American  

[mazh-uh-noh, ma-zhee-noh] / ˈmæʒ əˌnoʊ, ma ʒiˈnoʊ /

noun

1. a zone of heavy defensive fortifications erected by France along its eastern border in the years preceding World War II, but outflanked in 1940 when the German army attacked through Belgium.

2. any elaborate line of defense or set of barriers.

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Maginot line British  

/ ˈmæʒɪˌnəʊ, maʒino /

noun

1. a line of fortifications built by France to defend its border with Germany prior to World War II; it proved ineffective against the German invasion

2. any line of defence in which blind confidence is placed

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Maginot line Cultural  

1. A chain of defensive fortifications built by France on its eastern border between World War I and World War II. The Maginot line was designed to stop any future invasion by Germany, but it was never completed. In World War II, the Germans conquered France by going around the Maginot line to the north.

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The expression Maginot mentality refers to any military strategy that is exclusively defensive and therefore flawed. It also refers to military planning that is aimed at the past. This way of thinking is sometimes referred to as “fighting the last war.”

Etymology

Origin of Maginot line

1925–30; after André Maginot (1877–1932), French minister of war

Example Sentences

When Hitler’s Nazi Germany was quickly defeating European nations, Americans believed we were still safe because Hitler would not dare invade France, the strongest army in Europe, protected by the Maginot Line.

From Washington Post

Before Congress last week, the Biden administration conceded that one rhetorical Maginot Line supporting withdrawal had fallen.

From Washington Post

Unfortunately, this conjecture is likely to be merely a second rhetorical Maginot Line.

From Washington Post

The general’s championing of visionary weapons to prepare for this “big fight” also struck me as fanciful, like the failed security the French once found in their Maginot Line.

From Washington Post

As O'Hehir describes, the Democratic Party is hunkered down in its own version of the Maginot Line while the Republican-fascist movement has outmaneuvered and encircled them.

From Salon