drew the line
Established a boundary
Drew the line is the past tense of draw the line, meaning to establish a limit or boundary beyond which one will not go.
The expression suggests a decisive moment when someone refuses to accept or tolerate something further: I put up with a lot from him, but I drew the line at outright lies.
It implies that while some things may be acceptable, a particular point marks the threshold of what one will permit.
- principleFundamental truth or standard
- moral compassInner ethical guidance system
- compromiseAgreement through mutual sacrifice
- thresholdPoint of beginning
- hard limitUnbreakable maximum constraint
expectation · conscience · cutoff · point of no return · boundary · morality · honesty · demarcation · nonnegotiable · no means no · willpower · standard · resolve · refuse · integrity · control · limit · choice
drew the linelooked the other way
Deliberately avoided noticing
turned a blind eye · anything goes · let it go · tolerated · enabled
drew the lineacquiesced
Agreed without protest
caved in · gave in · capitulated · yielded · submitted
drew, draw, line, drawing, drawn, drawl, lines, lined, lining