line upon line
Preserved but no longer current.
Meaning · English
Admonition or instruction repeated little by little (a line at a time).
Era: ca. 1898 (Victorian)
Sources & notes
Reproduced from Brewer’s Dictionary of Phrase and Fable (1898 edition, public domain; archive.org, retrieved 2026-07-31; OCR text, minor errors possible). Reflects the scholarship and attitudes of its era.
Common questions
What does “line upon line” mean?
Admonition or instruction repeated little by little (a line at a time).
Is “line upon line” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.