hold the line


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hold the line

1. To firmly uphold a certain position. You can try to sway me all you want, but I'm holding the line—curfew is 10 PM.
2. To remain on the telephone line until someone is available to converse. A: "Hello, may I speak to Mr. Smith, please?" B: "I'll have to see if he's available. Please hold the line."
See also: hold, line
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms. © 2024 Farlex, Inc, all rights reserved.

hold the line (at someone or something)

Fig. not to exceed a certain limit regarding someone or something. Having your wife on the payroll is one thing, but no one else from the family—I will hold the line at her. We have to hold the line at this kind of expenditure. Okay, we'll hold the line.
See also: hold, line
McGraw-Hill Dictionary of American Idioms and Phrasal Verbs. © 2002 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.

hold the line

Maintain the existing position or state of affairs. For example, We'll have to hold the line on spending until our profits rise. This term alludes to former military tactics, in which a line of troops was supposed to prevent an enemy breakthrough. Eventually, it was transferred to civilian enterprises. [Mid-1900s]
See also: hold, line
The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer. Copyright © 2003, 1997 by The Christine Ammer 1992 Trust. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

hold the line

1 not yield to the pressure of a difficult situation. 2 maintain a telephone connection during a break in the conversation.
Sense 1 is a military metaphor, from the idea of a line of soldiers withstanding an attack without moving from their positions.
1 1980 Shirley Hazzard The Transit of Venus But if we made one exception we would naturally be in no position to hold the line on similar cases.
See also: hold, line
Farlex Partner Idioms Dictionary © Farlex 2017

hold the line

To maintain the existing position or state of affairs: had to hold the line on salary increases.
See also: hold, line
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
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References in periodicals archive ?
(T) From The Knap to Watch House Beach the preferred policy is one of no active intervention for the entire coastline, except at the Knap where the policy will be to hold the line for 20 years and then adopt 10.00 8 News and Weather (T) Tonight; Weather (T) Agenda ITV''s political Tom Bradby presents a on the week''s main 10.50 all a plan of managed realignment.
PLAN FOR COASTLINE SET FOR GO-AHEAD; 7.00 Great British Food Revival Monica Galetti flies the flag for British asparagus and is 7.00 Chas confronts 7.00 The One Show Hosted by Alex Jones and Matt Baker. (T) 7.30 X-Ray Doorstep traders 'Considerable' investment needed in future 7
"He will tell me what he is going to do sometimes, so my job is to hold the line and the width.
Give me a wing, says Ben
The 6-foot-3, 265-pound guard was able to hold the line and help a young team mature.
Tom Sarkisian; Auburn High
A US military report leaked to the Daily Mirror reads: "This effort is intended not to overwhelm Taliban forces but to hold the line and disrupt closer relations between the Taliban and the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan and Islamic Jihad Union, Islamist factions from Central Asia to the north."
US SENDS IN SEALS
The South Korean Forces were pushed back to a small area around the port of Pusan; a small American detachment from Japan was rushed in to help initially to hold the line until UN reinforcements arrived.
History lesson; LETTERS
He is a decent player, but he must be able to "Hold the Line" so to speak and then attack when it is least expected.
Letter: Your Shout - The world at Everton
The RAB sought to hold the line on costs by reducing the starting salary for janitors, while offering a pay increase for current employees.
Salvatore, a lawyer who enjoys solving labor squabbles
San Diego and El Paso were the first high-traffic areas targeted by the agency through Operation Gatekeeper and Operation Hold the Line. But rather than reducing the scale of migration across the Southern border, this strategy has had the effect of pushing hopeful migrants away from these cities and forcing them to cross in desert regions under life-threatening conditions of extreme heat and no access to water.
Borderland security: vigilantes are far from the fringe in Arizona. Instead, organizers say, ranchers and border agents mirror a violent border society where racial profiling abounds and prosecution of abuse is rare
But the Bush administration also opted to hold the line on TRIO programs, which help recruit and retain disadvantaged students in higher education.
Budget plan preserves GEAR UP program
"The carriers are going to try to hold the line, because summer's the high season [in the United States] and they don't want to be accused of gouging," he says.
Low-flying Fares
Top-line growth will be limited as insurers hold the line on writing only profitable new business.
On Closer Examination
The two women waded across the Rio Grande near El Paso, where the INS's Operation Hold the Line is in effect.
Rape on the border
The 2 percent cap would be enforced by a "sequester." This means automatic, across-the-board reductions in spending would kick in if Congress failed to take the necessary steps to hold the line. Social Security would be exempt from the sequester.
Putting families first
Logan said the Sault has already dipped into its reserves in order to hold the line on taxes.
Mayors disappointed by failure to have gas taxes cut
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