fire line—
1. a strip of cleared or ploughed land intended to check a forest fire:
- It became clear that the truck would survive once it outsped the fire line.
2. a police barrier around a building on fire:
- It is the responsibility of the police department to keep unauthorized persons outside this fire line.
line of fire—(also: firing line)
1. the path of a missile discharged from a firearm:
- Large dugouts were built … so that they were not directly in line of fire from enemy guns.
2. a position where one is likely to come under attack, receive punishment, etc.:
- Modern art is the cause of much argument, so the writer has placed himself in the line of fire between the two sides.
Note: The expression does not correlate in meaning with the phrase line of battle—(Military) a line formed by troops or ships for delivering or receiving an attack:
- The enemy were discovered drawn up in line of battle on the heights near Sharpsburg.