lifeline—
1. a rope (attached to a life-buoy) to which a person may cling to save his life:
- Lifelines used on Mr. Heath’s ill-fated yacht were yesterday called sub-standard by the British Safety Council.
2. smth. regarded as indispensable for survival:
- A ￡54-million “lifeline” was thrown by the Government yesterday to the farming industry.
3. (Palmistry) a line that supposedly indicates the duration and events in life:
- He felt a sharp pain in his palm, the part bounded by his lifeline.
Note: The expression does not correlate in meaning with the phrase live line—(also: live wire) a cable or wire carrying electric current:
- Safe work procedures require the use of rubber gloves and other live line tools.
line of life—
1. = lifeline 3:
- Had I been a gypsy palmist I might have paid more attention to the old grouch’s lines of life and fate.
2. occupation; line of business:
- His father being a physician, he also decided to follow in his footsteps and so began the preparation for this line of life.
3. (dated) one’s rank or station in life:
- She had received a more liberal education than is usually bestowed upon English women in the middle line of life.