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Dictionary

Words, grammatical forms and meanings linked to the ontology.

tow the line en · VERB

Meanings

  1. (nonstandard) Eggcorn of toe the line.
    • This isn't the first time this week where Cheney has slammed Republicans for towing the line for Trump. 2024 February 6, Brad Reed, “'Inexcusable betrayal': Liz Cheney buries her party for following 'Trump's orders'”, in MSN, archived from the original on 06 Feb 2024, Politics:
    • Some metaphors now current have been twisted out of their original meaning without those who use them even being aware of the fact. For example, toe the line is sometimes written as tow the line. [1946 April, George Orwell, “Politics and the English Language”, in Cyril Connolly, editor, Horizon, volume 13, number 76, London: Horizon, →ISSN, →OCLC, page 255:

Forms

SpellingFeaturesLabelsSource
tows the line Number=Sing, Person=3, Tense=Pres lexicographic
towing the line Tense=Pres, VerbForm=Part lexicographic
towed the line Tense=Past, VerbForm=Part lexicographic
towed the line Tense=Past lexicographic

Relateds

towline