> as lemmas

1850 Boston Post 23 July 2/5 He would prefer striking out the clause prohibiting the establishment or exclusion and extending the Missouri line without an express recognition of slavery south of it. It would be running a line in the sand.

1953 Daily Republican (Mitchell, S. Dakota) 28 July 4/1 The Communists..were obviously trying to see how far they could go before the free world drew a line in the sand and said,‘This is it.’

1978 Washington Post 29 Aug. a7/5 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.

1995 Village Voice (N.Y.) 7 Mar. 20/2 From an organized-labor point of view, this is the line in the sand, the bottom of the ninth, the sudden death overtime.

1996 Scotsman 23 July 15/1 Whenever John Major draws a line in the sand, you can be sure some Eurosceptic bully will come along and kick it in his face.

2001 ON 5 Feb. 67/2 Like many other administrators, Hagen has become more willing to draw a line in the sand sooner and threaten troublemakers with expulsion sooner.