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There are a couple of possible origins for the phrase, “Toe the line,” but there are a few challenges that complicate getting to the root of the saying.
The first problem is the way the idiom is spelled. Many believe the phrase is “tow the line,” but “tow” seems to be universally deemed a misspelling by scholars.
Another issue is that there are several similar expressions that have like meanings but different origins. “Toe the mark,” for example, may well be older than “toe the line” but likewise means to obey an order. Used figuratively, it was first seen in print in 1813 (before the first written use of “toe the line” in 1831) in a satyr: The Diverting History of John Bull and Brother Jonathan by American novelist James Paulding. He writes that a character “began to think it was high time to toe the mark.”
Another common phrase was associated with boxing matches, where combatants were told to “toe the scratch” - a mark on the floor that indicated their starting positions. Likewise, race competitors were told to “toe the…” (mark, scratch or line) to prepare to begin their event.
According to phrases.org.uk, one widely repeated story is that “toe the line” comes from the British House of Commons. Arguments between the two parties can become quite heated, and legend has it that the two parallel red lines on the floor of the chamber were installed to keep the members from coming to blows. The markings are two sword-lengths apart, and members must speak from behind their party’s red line – hence, they must toe the line or they’re out of order. Tour guides to the chamber, in particular, are fond of relaying this tale to the visitors they escort. The problem with the story, however, is that the Commons Chamber was rebuilt in 1950 (well after the time when swords were permitted in Parlement). Paintings that predate the construction don’t show such a red line, casting doubt on this being the where the phrase “toe the line” started.
Most scholars seem to feel that the idiom originated in the British Navy and had a literal meaning. At the time, navy ships decks were made of boards waterproofed with layers of oakum, pitch and tar, creating long straight lines across their surfaces. When crews – often barefoot – were called on deck for inspection, they were required to put their toes on the line to ensure a neat assembly. The phrase “toe the line,” therefore, meant to assemble in an orderly fashion as commanded. Similarly, sailors were sometimes punished by having to stand at attention with their toes on the deck lines for hours at a time, in all weather.
Phrases.org.uk backs this interpretation up by stating that the earliest usage found in print is from The Edinburgh Literary Journal, January – June 1831:
“The matter, therefore, necessarily became rather serious; and the whole gang of us being sent for on the quarter-deck, we were ranged in a line, each with his toes at the edge of a plank, according to the orthodox fashion of these gregarious scoldings, technically called toe-the-line matches.”
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