toe the line

Idioms  

1. Also, toe the mark. Meet a standard, abide by the rules, as in The new director will make us toe the line, I'm sure, or At daycare Brian has to toe the mark, but at home his mother's quite lenient. This idiom refers to runners in a race placing their toes on the starting line and not moving until the starting signal. Its figurative use dates from the early 1800s.

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Example Sentences

A new generation of risk-taking investors increasingly toes the line between trading and gambling.

From The Wall Street Journal

"While some within the state may think that punishing outlets that refuse to toe the line may snuff out critical voices, in the modern age this is next to impossible," the editorial board said.

From BBC

"It's those images and posts that seem to toe the line between reality and duplicity that capture our attention and encourage us to share," Ms Duffy said.

From BBC

Vitello earned a reputation as a brash, fiery leader with unmatched people skills whose teams toed the line between confident and cocky.

From The Wall Street Journal

For the first time, the 40-year-old running legend will toe the line at the New York City Marathon.

From The Wall Street Journal