See Also: lifeline(dictionary)
lifeline(dictionary)
Lifeline - Sailing(gambling)

lifeline (iou)



lifeline noun. E18.
[from LIFE noun + LINE noun2.]
A line or rope for use in life-saving, e.g. attached to a lifebuoy or used by fire-fighters. E18.
Ilkeston Advertiser The lifelineseasier to use and more accurate than lifebeltswere provided. fig.: G. Orwell The public schoolman..clings to the Old School Tie as to a lifeline.
b. A diver's signalling line. L19.
fig. In Classical Mythology, the thread supposedly spun by the Fates, determining the length of a person's life (formerly also called line of life). Also, an essential supply route, a line of communication, etc. M19.
Sun (Baltimore) As they [the Japanese] went along, they..got themselves into a position where they could threaten the American life line to Australia. B. Unsworth Battistella, his lifeline in this too, brought him the gossip of the coffee house.
Palmistry. A line on the palm of the hand supposed to indicate one's length of life. L19.
M. McCarthy He felt a sharp pain in..his palm, the part bounded by his lifeline.