Toe the line Toe the line "Toe the line" is an idiomatic expression meaning either to conform to a rule or standard, or to stand poised at the starting line in a footrace. Other phrases which were once used in the early 1800s and have the same meaning were toe the mark and toe the plank. The expression has disputed origins. Those suggested are from public school, the armed services, or possibly the British House of Commons. It is common practice in many long-established schools for roll-call to be taken twice a day, at which the pupils line up with their toes exactly
Variations on the name "Abegg" Variations on the name "Abegg" The Variations on the name "Abegg" in F major is a piece (theme with variations) for piano by Robert Schumann, composed between 1829 and 1830 and published as his Opus 1. The name is believed to refer to Schumann's fictitious friend, Meta Abegg, whose surname Schumann used through a musical cryptogram as the motivic basis for the piece. The name Meta is considered to be an anagram of the word "tema" ("Latin"). Another suggestion is Pauline von Abegg. Apparently, when he was twenty years old, Schumann met her and dedicated this work to her, as