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PoorRichard Posted 22 years ago
Vocabulary
Whence 'draw a line in the sand'?
There are two explanations of this phrase on Word Detective:
http://www.word-detective.com/backidx.html
(You have to page down to the index & look for 'line in the sand'.)
Neither seems applicable to its current usage, which is roughly equivalent to 'draw a line under' (itself presumably an accounting reference).
Ancient mathematicians (Euclid for instance) drew lines in sand when studying geometry, but this doesn't seem relevant.
Does anyone know the origins of this common phrase?
http://www.word-detective.com/backidx.html
(You have to page down to the index & look for 'line in the sand'.)
Neither seems applicable to its current usage, which is roughly equivalent to 'draw a line under' (itself presumably an accounting reference).
Ancient mathematicians (Euclid for instance) drew lines in sand when studying geometry, but this doesn't seem relevant.
Does anyone know the origins of this common phrase?
Top answer
This is a curious one. ) etc... In this passage it says when the pharisees ask Jesus what should be done with the woman he is 'This they said, tempting him, that they might have to accuse him.
- This is a curious one.
- ) etc...
- In this passage it says when the pharisees ask Jesus what should be done with the woman he is 'This they said, tempting him, that they might have to accuse him.
- ' (King James Bible) Then he says the famous line, and again writes in the ground.
- e.
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31 Answers
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This is a curious one. At first I thought it could be to do with the Biblical tale of the adulterous woman and Jesus (Let he who is without sin cast the first stone.) etc...
In this passage it says when the pharisees ask Jesus what should be done with the woman he is
'This they said, tempting him, that they might have to accuse him. But Jesus stooped down, and with his fing
In this passage it says when the pharisees ask Jesus what should be done with the woman he is
'This they said, tempting him, that they might have to accuse him. But Jesus stooped down, and with his fing
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Here's what the Word-detective website has to say:
In his book "In Love With Norma Loquendi" (a collection of his Sunday New York Times Magazine columns, published by Random House in 1994), Mr. (William) Safire provides two possible origins for "drawing a line in the sand."
The more recent possible origin for the phrase is an incident said to have taken place during the siege
In his book "In Love With Norma Loquendi" (a collection of his Sunday New York Times Magazine columns, published by Random House in 1994), Mr. (William) Safire provides two possible origins for "drawing a line in the sand."
The more recent possible origin for the phrase is an incident said to have taken place during the siege
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'To draw a line in the sand' in its current usage means 'to conclude
the matter'.
For the Alamo story to explain the phrase, all the Mexicans would
have had to have said 'well, that's that, then', and gone home as
soon as Travis drew his line.
Similarly, in the Macedonian story, the drawing of the line doesn't
itself conclude the affair, as it precedes th
the matter'.
For the Alamo story to explain the phrase, all the Mexicans would
have had to have said 'well, that's that, then', and gone home as
soon as Travis drew his line.
Similarly, in the Macedonian story, the drawing of the line doesn't
itself conclude the affair, as it precedes th
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0 "To draw a line in the sand" is a "tongue-in-cheek" expression not meaning to conclude an affair. It refers to a conclusion which can be washed away as quickly as a wave can literally obliterate a line drawn in the sand of a beach. 0-
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0 Hi guys, 02 br
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00 I don't see this expression as meaning 'to conclude the matter'. I see it as meaning 'to state a non-negotiable position'. This merely sets limits, although in turn this may or may not lead to a conclusion. 02 br
02 br
00 eg The Canadian Centre For Policy Alternatives wrote this of trade discussions wuth the USA: 01 font
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00 I don't see this expression as meaning 'to conclude the matter'. I see it as meaning 'to state a non-negotiable position'. This merely sets limits, although in turn this may or may not lead to a conclusion. 02 br
02 br
00 eg The Canadian Centre For Policy Alternatives wrote this of trade discussions wuth the USA: 01 font
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0 I have no idea whether this has any connection whatever, but when Francisco Pizarro's underfed and sickly fellows wanted to get back to Panama rather than keep trying to find a new empire to conquer, he actually drew a line in the sand (in the beach of Isla del Gallo) an said more or less, 'on this side (south = on to Peru) you'll find toil, hunger, nakedness, and storms, and death; on the othe
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1 blockquote
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00 Didn't this expression get popular during the first Gulf war? 0-
01 cite 10 Anonymous 12 cite 12 br10 The battle at the Alamo is famous in the U.S. and in Texas in particular. You can Google it. 02 br
10 Alamo? 12 br
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12 blockquote
02 br
00 Didn't this expression get popular during the first Gulf war? 0-
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0 I agree with Clive - I have only heard this expression used in the sense of Webster's second definition, to mean "thus far shalt thou go and no further." 02 br
00 First Gulf war, GG? You think, because of all that sand? 0-
00 First Gulf war, GG? You think, because of all that sand? 0-
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0 I seem to recall that the first Mr. Bush used the line when describing the war. Either they said the allies had drawn a line in the sand, or that Saddam had - it became a popular expression then, perhaps because there literally was a lot of sand. 02 br
02 br
00 Of course, that was also when "The mother of all Xs" became popular too, so maybe I'm mixing up my expressions. 0-
02 br
00 Of course, that was also when "The mother of all Xs" became popular too, so maybe I'm mixing up my expressions. 0-
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