1
general::
1. Make ready for payment, as in They laid hundreds of thousands of dollars on the line to develop the new software. [c. 1900] 2. lay it on the line. Speak frankly and firmly, make something clear. For example, The professor laid it on the line: either hand in a term paper or fail the course. [c. 1920] 3. Put something at risk, as in The troops sent overseas were laying their lives on the line. [Mid-1900s]
American Heritage Idioms