Toe the Line

Posted by James Briggs on October 13, 2000

In Reply to: Toe the Line posted by Oxhead on October 12, 2000

: : A friend and I disagee on the definition. Can someone please help?

: It means to conform, or to "get with the program." In the military, soldiers make sure their toes are all even along an imaginary line when called for review. Kind of like runners before a race.

If you are asked toe the line the you are expected to conform to the rules of the situation. In one suggested origin the Line actually exists and is found in the House of Commons. It was put there to mark the sword distance between Government and Opposition front benches. Members were told to toe the line if, in the eyes of the Speaker, they became too excited.
A less romantic possible basis is found in athletics where the runners in a race line up with their toes on the line.

The US navy has a completely different origin. From their web site comes:
The space between each pair of deck planks in a wooden ship was filled with a packing material called "oakum" and then sealed with a mixture of pitch and tar. The result, from afar, was a series of parallel lines a half-foot or so apart, running the length of the deck.
Once a week, as a rule, usually on Sunday, a warship's crew was ordered to fall in at quarters -- that is, each group of men into which the crew was divided would line up in formation in a given area of the deck. To insure a neat alignment of each row, the Sailors were directed to stand with their toes just touching a particular seam.
Another use for these seams was punitive. The youngsters in a ship, be they ship's boys or student officers, might be required to stand with their toes just touching a designated seam for a length of time as punishment for some minor infraction of discipline, such as talking or fidgeting at the wrong time. A tough captain might require the miscreant to stand there, not talking to anyone, in fair weather or foul, for hours at a time. Hopefully, he would learn it was easier and more pleasant to conduct himself in the required manner rather than suffer the punishment.
From these two uses of deck seams comes our cautionary word to obstreperous youngsters to "toe the line."

• Painting the town red Brian Fare 10/22/00