toe the line

短语

准备起跑, 听从

发音

toed the line toeing the line toes the line 三单 toes the line toeing the line 现在分词 toed the line 过去式 toed the line 过去分词

tow the line

1.

To abide by the rules or conventions; (politics, in particular) to follow the party line.

习语

Television shows these days do not always toe the line of decency and common sense.

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.’
2.

To stand at one's mark before a footrace.

习语

Alberto Salazar is one of the most famous athletes to have toed the line at this great race.
3.

To be on a boundary or in a grey area between two states.

习语

Her stories often toe the line between fact and fiction.
4.

To push boundaries imposed by an authority; to push the envelope; to flirt with crossing the line.

You were really toeing the line there with those comments.

动词

Unknown, with multiple competing etymologies and some theorizing the phrasing originated from the United States and others the United Kingdom.

来源：wiktionary