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Glite Dictionary
to get a line on

to get a line on

12 6.7
To find out basic information about a person or thing
  • phrasal verb
translation icon : averiguar
  • Can you get a line on the new policy changes so we know how to proceed?
  • try to get a line on

Examples

Synonyms

to look up
vsto get a line on
357 1.4

To find information about something in a book, list, or online

gathers information more generally to understand people or situations
to inquire
vsto get a line on
  • Formal
107 3.0

To ask someone for information about something

uses broader information gathering rather than direct questioning
to feel out
vsto get a line on
7 5.3

Try to find out someone's opinion or plans without asking directly

seeks information more generally to understand or make decisions
to sound out
vsto get a line on
2 4.4

Try to find out what someone thinks by asking indirect questions

seeks information more generally to understand or make decisions

How Informed

to know
∞ 1.0
to get the picture
  • Informal
37 3.2
to get a line on
12 6.7
to hear
∞ 1.0

Surface Forms

get a line on infinitive

Morphology

get + a + line + on

The verb 'get' (to obtain) combined with 'line' (a channel/contact) plausibly suggests obtaining a channel or contact and therefore information, so a learner who knows the constituent meanings could often infer the general sense. However, the specific collocation 'a line on' and the use of 'on' to mean 'about' are somewhat idiomatic and not fully predictable without exposure, so the expression is only partially transparent.

Etymology

Get a line on may come from the image of throwing a line into water to find a fish; when the line feels the fish you know where it is. That's why the phrase came to mean 'to find out' or 'get information' about someone or something.