Musings by Maree

A SIMPLE FOUR-LETTER WORD.

No … not that one!
Being an avid consumer of all things lingual, the writer finds delight in the richness and novelties of our own ‘mother tongue’. Select something as simple as a single four-letter word and by varying its context and finding it companions, it can be wrangled into a veritable literary collection.

The word of choice? Well, it’s this one … ‘LINE’.

How’s that for a ‘one-line headline’? Lots more to come – read on.

One doesn’t need the advantage of senior years to be able to provide a meaning for this little fellow. It’s usually narrow and possibly long and straight; and might divide or define spaces.

Think ‘centre line’, ‘dividing line’, ‘midline’, ‘top line’, ‘baseline’ and ‘bottom line’ for example. Simple? However, both baseline and bottom line, and dividing line also, have meanings which go beyond their position in space. And ‘borderline’- has sinister implications! One needs to take care before signing on a ‘dotted’ one. Crossing lines, too, might get you in trouble. Double yellow ones, phone mix-ups, watch for that approaching train!

A line’s place in space sometimes assumes significance. Being on the ‘front line’ or sent ‘down the line’ are more scary than being ‘behind the line’. Maybe not a good idea to be in the firing one, or to snuggle up to a ‘faultline’ either. Approaching a line; one might have to ‘cross’ it, or ‘toe it’ – but maybe not ‘step over it’. You may have to ‘get into’ one, and once positioned, best to ‘keep in’ it rather than ‘step out of’ it.

Some lines transport stuff – or even you. Think ‘powerline’, ‘phoneline’, ‘fuel line’, ‘I-V line’. Maybe ‘online’ slots in here, unless you have the annoying experience of being ‘offline’.

Going somewhere? Choose an ‘airline’, a ‘railway line’, or enjoy the delights of a ‘shipping’ one. Contemplating things nautical; there’s a ‘bowline’, an equally important Maginot one, the ‘coastline’, ‘shoreline’ and the distant ‘skyline’. One for fishing. (Lazy chaps use a ‘setline’, of course). Hopefully a ‘lifeline’ will not be required! Back on the beach, take care with any ‘line in the sand’ – why is it drawn there?

Something important? ‘Underline’ it. Plenty of other things you can do with lines, too. Draw one, rule one, join the dots with one, spin one, win one at Bingo, or snort one [NOT recommended!]. Send something down one. Misbehave at school and write a hundred of them. Be like a bee and make a fast straight one. One to avoid … the ‘bread’ one.

The human body adorned is not immune. There’s a hairline, neckline, bustline, waistline, and hemline; not to mention the ones appearing on your face – “timelines” – to be polite. All known to go up or down; increase or decrease. Lines with minds of their own, perhaps?
There’s a fine line between outlining your intentions and using a dodgey chatline. That or a hotline might not get you from the start line to the finish line, and might leave you on the sideline.

Need help? There’s Lifeline, Youthline, Quitline. Not recommended: the mainline.

For the literati amongst us: the headline (mentioned) – perhaps something like “What’s My Line?” Then the by-line, the storyline and the all-important punchline. It doesn’t pay to go into excessive detail; better to streamline the task. The writer might need guidelines from a suitable helpline when anticipating the approach of the dreaded deadline. More than one of those … one’s all-time horror: the DEADLINEUP!
And the final line … when nothing works any more … the flatline. At last you have met the ‘dead’ line!