party line

[pahr-tee lahyn for 1, 2; pahr-tee lahyn for 3, 4] /ˈpɑr ti ˈlaɪn for 1, 2; ˈpɑr ti ˌlaɪn for 3, 4/
noun
1.
the authorized, prescribed policies and practices of a group, especially of the Communist Party, usually followed by the members without deviation; official philosophy or credo.
2.
the guiding policy, tenets, or practices of a political party:
The judge was chosen on party lines.
3.
a telephone line connecting the telephones of a number of subscribers by one circuit to a central office, used in some rural areas.
4.
the boundary line separating adjoining properties.
Origin
1825-35, Americanism
Related forms
party-line, adjective
Examples from the web for party line
  • Those that parrot the party line get cited endlessly, those that go in a different direction get punished.
  • Nor is it a conspiracy when people are told they'll be sacked if they don't tow the party line.
  • They will keep their jobs, because they toed the party line.
  • Even when he was being reasonable, the party line kept showing through.
  • Connection to party line service is subject to state tariffs.
  • It instructed the media to wait for an official party line.
British Dictionary definitions for party line

party line

noun
1.
a telephone line serving two or more subscribers
2.
the policies or dogma of a political party, to which all members are expected to subscribe
3.
(mainly US) the boundary between adjoining property
Idioms and Phrases with party line

party line

The official policy of an organization or government, as in The current party line opposes legalized abortion in all cases. This term, dating from about 1830, was originally used for a political party's official policy but in the mid-1900s was almost exclusively applied to the rigid dicta of the Soviet Communist Party. Since then it has returned to looser use.