give someone line

== English == === Etymology === Referring to the use of a fishing line. === Pronunciation === === Verb === give someone line (third-person singular simple present gives someone line, present participle giving someone line, simple past gave someone line, past participle given someone line) (fishing) To unreel more fishing line so that a hooked fish has more freedom to tire itself out. (idiomatic, dated) To allow a person more or less liberty until it is convenient to stop or check him/her. === References === “line”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.