lay on the line

lay on the line idiom
  1. Make ready for payment, as in They laid hundreds of thousands of dollars on the line to develop the new software. [c. 1900]
  2. lay it on the line. Speak frankly and firmly, make something clear. For example, The professor laid it on the line: either hand in a term paper or fail the course. [c. 1920]
  3. Put something at risk, as in The troops sent overseas were laying their lives on the line. [Mid-1900s]

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.

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