end of the line

the end of the line

1. The physical end of a route of travel, usually a bus or train route. This is the end of the line, folks, so everyone needs to get off the bus.
2. By extension, the conclusion or final step of something. Printing our report is the end of the line—now, we just have to hand it in and pray for a good grade! Regardless of how this championship series goes, I know this is the end of the line for me, after 16 years in the league.
See also: end, line, of
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms.

end of the line

Also, end of the road. The conclusion or final outcome. For example, The editorial pointed out that it was the end of the line for the President; he'd never be reelected , or It was obviously the end of the road for this television series. This idiom alludes to the point where a road or line stops. [c. 1900]
See also: end, line, of
The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer.

the ˌend of the ˈroad/ˈline

the point where somebody/something cannot continue: The workers see the closure of the pit as the end of the line for mining in this area. It’s the end of the road for our relationship. We just can’t agree about anything any more.
See also: end, line, of, road
Farlex Partner Idioms Dictionary
See also:
  • the end of the line
  • the end of the road/line
  • be the end of the road
  • at the end of the line
  • double-decker
  • take to one's heels, to
  • come to a bad end
  • come to a bad/sticky end
  • count
  • count heads
References in periodicals archive
Roy Hodgson has apologised about reports that he told fans that it was the "end of the line" for Rio Ferdinand's international career.
Tie the free end of the line to a swivel and your hooklink is complete.
Based on the book by Charles Clover, The End of the Line looks set to draw attention to the issue in the same way that An Inconvenient Truth did for the debate on climate change.
Patrick Askins, 60, says he spent six months trying to contact BT's customer services to query a bill, but time and again was faced with a recorded voice at the other end of the line.
END OF THE LINE: THE FAILURE OF AMTRAK REFORM AND THE FUTURE OF AMERICA'S PASSENGER TRAINS is a hard-hitting survey of an impending major failure: it comes from an Amtrak advocate-turned-critic who here offers evidence Amtrak should be replaced, as it's wasting taxpayer dollars.
This one's got an ode to street skating in the Big Apple, a review of a ledge in Bercy, France that might just be the best ledge in the world (according to Colin), coverage of the End of the Line party for Thrasher's King of the Road, an interview with some Euro guy named Soy Panday that's more than a little random, an interview with Dan Pensyl, some video and music reviews, and coverage of the Back to the Banks jam in Brooklyn.
"One of the biggest challenges in manufacturing is to get more net good parts off the end of the line," says Dennis Cocco, president and CEO of Activplant Corp.
LOOKS like the end of the line for this group of travellers after the train driver went the wrong way.
Lynn in End of the Line: The Rise and Coming Fall of the Global Corporation, the close connections of the world economic order has created not just an increase in prosperity but the danger that a sudden problem on one side of the planet could have devastating consequences on all of the others.
the poor remain at the end of the line, at the bottom of priority lists, and cut out of budgets.
Port 3 is the end of the line adjacent to port 1 and port 4 is the other end of the line, near port 2.
A sound and coherent argument for change from an industry veteran, End of the Line will resonate with free-market proponents.
He got it down to five, but on Tuesday the most senior judge in Britain said his appeal was ``hopeless'' and showed him the end of the line.
In "End of the Line," a big man in search of a pet buys a little man, whose requests for typical comforts--"an actual pillow ...
Generally, VoIP software converts a voice signal at one end of the line into digital data packets (which are carried over a broadband Internet connection) and then converts them back into a voice signal at the other end.