E. Cobham Brewer 1810–1897. Dictionary of Phrase and Fable. 1898.
Lines.
The lines have fallen to me in pleasant places. The part allotted to me and measured off by a measuring line. (Palms xvi. 6.)
1
Hard lines. Harsh restrictions. Here lines means an allotment measured out.
2
To read between the lines. To discern the secret meaning. One method of cryptography is to write in alternate lines; if read line by line, the meaning of the writer is reversed or wholly misunderstood. Thus lines 2, 4, 6 of the following cryptogram would convey the warning to Lord Monteagle of the Gunpowder Plot.
