Talk:draw a line in the sand

Bickerstaff citation seems ambiguous

The Bickerstaff citation could easily be for sense 1, implying that all real Democrats must oppose the compromise. More context might resolve the ambiguity. DCDuring TALK 17:30, 26 June 2011 (UTC)

RFV

The following discussion has been moved from Wiktionary:Requests for verification.

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Rfv-sense: To provide a test of commitment to a cause that carries a high risk. In 1836, William B. Travis, commending the defenders of the Alamo, drew a line in the sand and asked those willing to remain and defend the Alamo to their deaths, to step across. Looks like just an example of the second sense (which was originally the first sense). ---> Tooironic 10:10, 24 June 2011 (UTC)

The point you raise is an RfD point. I have provided current citations that justify eliminating the "dated" tag. I found it easy to find examples of this sense. In the course of doing so, I found no examples of the now-second sense. Dictionaries that cover this only have one sense. We had three, now four. DCDuring TALK 12:54, 24 June 2011 (UTC)

It's possible that the second sense (the one I originally wrote) is a literal application of the idiom, what do you think? ---> Tooironic 14:05, 24 June 2011 (UTC)

I can't do this kind of thing (making sense distinctions) without citations. All the senses seem plausible. I also believe that this can be a way of "challenging" someone to a fight. DCDuring TALK 15:23, 24 June 2011 (UTC)

Citations are now in. It seems all senses are figurative, in one way or another. Possibly the "challenge" sense, if there is a separate sense, is influenced by the drawing of battle lines...? — Pingku^dimmi 16:04, 26 June 2011 (UTC)

{{look}}

Discussion moved to the Tea Room. - -sche (discuss) 20:40, 21 March 2012 (UTC)