party line

[pahr-tee lahyn, pahr-tee lahyn]

noun

1. the authorized, prescribed policies and practices of a group, especially of the Communist Party, usually followed by the members without deviation; official philosophy or credo.

2. the guiding policy, tenets, or practices of a political party.

   The judge was chosen on party lines.

3. a telephone line connecting the telephones of a number of subscribers by one circuit to a central office, used in some rural areas.

4. the boundary line separating adjoining properties.

party line

noun

1. a telephone line serving two or more subscribers

2. the policies or dogma of a political party, to which all members are expected to subscribe

3. the boundary between adjoining property

Other Word Forms

• party-line adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of party line¹

An Americanism dating back to 1825–35

Idioms and Phrases

The official policy of an organization or government, as in The current party line opposes legalized abortion in all cases. This term, dating from about 1830, was originally used for a political party's official policy but in the mid-1900s was almost exclusively applied to the rigid dicta of the Soviet Communist Party. Since then it has returned to looser use.