Line in the sand (phrase)

A line in the sand is a metaphor with two similar meanings:

Biblical link to John 8:6. Some have (perhaps erroneously) interpreted Jesus' writing in the sand, as drawing a line in the sand in order to address those who are about to stone a woman caught in adultery. However, the literal translation is not that he drew a line in the sand, but that he "wrote" (or "drew lines" in some translations) in the sand, an important distinction.

The exact origin of the phrase is unknown: the Oxford English Dictionary suggests a transitional use from 1950, but a definitely figurative use only as late as 1978:

He drew a line in the sand with the toe of his boot, and said, 'It's as though I told you "I can punch you in the nose, but you can't reach across that line to hit me back."'

Notwithstanding the supposed public revulsion toward more federal spending, waste and bureaucracy-building, Congress seems to have gone out of its way to draw a wide line in the sand in front of Carter.

There is reference to an actual line being drawn in several historical, or legendary, military events:

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