tow the line

verb

Eggcorn of toe the line.

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Meanings

verbtow the line (third-person singular simple present tows the line, present participle towing the line, simple past and past participle towed the line)

present singular third person tows the line · participle present towing the line · participle past towed the line · past towed the line

  1. nonstandardEggcorn 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
    1 more example

    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
Cite this entry
APA

tow the line. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/tow%20the%20line

MLA

“tow the line.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/tow%20the%20line. Accessed November 5, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “tow the line,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/tow%20the%20line.

Source: tow the line on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.