This week, I was reading an article in a very well-known daily publication. The author of the article wrote that a member of a particular political group was "towing the party line." After I read the sentence, I stopped, paused for a moment, and read again. I realized then that the author had made a very common mistake: he mistook one homophone for another.Homophones are words that are pronounced the same but have different meanings. Homophones typically have different spellings. In this instance, the writer confused the homophones "tow" and "toe." In other words, the writer should have written that the members of the political group were "toeing the party line," not "towing the party line."
So what does the phrase "toe the line" mean, and where did it originate? According to Merriam-Webster, "toe the line" means "to conform rigorously to a rule or standard." As for the etymology of the phrase, English language maven Michael Quinion gives this explanation:
Toe the line is actually the survivor of a set of phrases that were common in the nineteenth century; others were toe the mark, toe the scratch, toe the crack, or toe the trig. In every case, the image was that of men lining up with the tips of their toes touching some line. They might be on parade, or preparing to undertake some task, or in readiness for a race or fight.
So the next time you use this idiomatic expression, make sure that you toe the line.
Post script: The online version of the article in which the incorrect usage of the phrase appeared has since been edited to eliminate the phrase completely.
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