along the lines of

along the lines of (something)

Roughly similar to something; like something, though not exactly the same. Well, that's along the lines of what I have in mind for the new kitchen, but there are a few tweaks you need to make before it's right. This movie is along the lines of your old favorites.
See also: line, of
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms.

along the lines of

Also, on the lines of. Roughly similar or in keeping with. For example, We told the architect we want a design along the lines of his own house but smaller, or Jane asked the caterer for a menu on the lines of the Morgans' wedding reception. This idiom uses line in the sense of "a direction or procedure," a usage dating from the early 1600s.
See also: line, of
The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer.

on/along the lines of ...

,

on/along (the) ... lines

(spoken)
1 in the way that is mentioned: The new system will operate along the same lines as the old one.
2 similar to something; in a similar way, style, etc. to something: I’m looking for a silver teapot, something along the lines of this one here.
3 used for giving a summary of something you have read or heard: ‘What did he say in his defence?’ ‘Something along the lines of his being so drunk that he didn’t realize what he was doing.’
See also: line, on
Farlex Partner Idioms Dictionary
See also:
  • all right
  • (I) wouldn't (do something) if I were you
  • a/the feel of (something)
  • a straw will show which way the wind blows
  • a slew of (something)
  • a crack at (someone or something)
  • (you) wanna make something of it?
  • a fast talker
  • all for the best
  • a thing of the past
References in periodicals archive
Summary: Madrid, June 09, 2010, SPA -- Smaller Spanish banks are losing access to the European repo market due to concerns Spain could be heading for a debt crisis along the lines of EU partner Greece, Reuters quoted a top financial source in Spain as saying today.
Spain small lenders struggling for funding
Summary: A new street market modeled along the lines of a village bazaar has caught the fancy of people in Kolkata.
Street market to showcase traditional handicrafts
About that same time, a two-line classified ad appeared in the Wall Street Journal--something along the lines of "Newsletter company for sale.
Mark Ziebarth reenters newsletter business with acquisition of Bongarde Communications
Bearing in mind England are No 1 in the world and France can beat Southern Hemisphere countries - both with a domestic club structure and leagues, Wales should retain the club system along the lines of the Tasker Watkins report.
There should be a maximum of eight clubs, promotion and relegation, self-financing along the lines of the soccer Premiership.
Invest in clubs; Letters
Second, media outlets would be obliged by law to adopt a comprehensive code of conduct along the lines of that now covering ministers and MPs [members of Parliament].
(See "Trial by Fury," October 1999.) The panel was convened after an incident in which a young black man was set upon and murdered on the street by white hoodlums, touching off a national discussion very much along the lines of this country's "hate crimes" debate.
The Year in Double Takes
As expansive and mysterious as Ocean (1994), Biped is also one of this master choreographer's more lyrical endeavors, along the lines of last year's Pond Way, which, with the 1993 CRWDSPCR, completed the second of the company's annual San Francisco Bay Area programs.
MERCE CUNNINGHAM DANCE COMPANY
Such enlightenment might result only from the schooling--or re-tooling--of a cadre of critics through a series of workshops patterned somewhat along the lines of the National Critics Institute at the O'Neill Center in Waterford, Connecticut.
Brown wished to guarantee his survival by similarly bonding with the poor, he might have reorganized his African Grove Theatre along the lines of Mother Zion.
Escaping the tar-and-feather future of African American theatre
Webber was intrigued by the possibility of folding along the lines of a section of a tiling-say, a grid of identical triangles-to create some sort of three-dimensional object.
Crinkled doughnuts: math in the folds of a polyhedral crown
For pervasive reforms to be accomplished, a permanent agency with access to broad public support and resources at a national level, along the lines of the National Science Foundation, the National Institutes of Health or some other body, is needed.
Accounting education: the next horizon
Let me say this along the lines of response to your--while it's true that with more people it's easier, less risk of, you might be slain in battle.
Shakespeare on the beach; Mr. Vice President, you're no Prince Hal
While he hasn't recommended a proposal along the lines of the Chilean program, he remains interested in major Social Security reforms.
Retirement plans
What Konradi calls the "shell" of debris absorbs high-energy protons that spiral in toward the debris along the lines of Earth's magnetic field, so that "in the next decades we can expect a measurable decrease in [the protons'] fluxes," thus reducing the flow of charged particles in the radiation belts.
Trashing earth's radiation belts