walk a fine line

English/NBC Nightly News 2008. 9. 23. 14:11
http://forum.wordreference.com/showthread.php?t=3339
to handle a situation with great delicacy and care, with not a lot of room to maneuver (figuratively speaking). Usually the stakes are considered to be high. Often it's understood as trying to balance two extremes. (Of course, a specific context might be understood as a variation on this...)

For example:

"Rosa walks a fine line in renogotiating higher prices with our best client."
"The police chief is walking a fine line in dealing with the kidnappers."
"Politicians walk a fine line between appealing to the most voters and watering down their messages."

http://www.usingenglish.com/reference/idioms/walk+a+fine+line.html
If you have to walk a fine line, you have to be very careful not to annoy or anger people or groups that are competing. ('Walk a thin line' is an alternative.)

http://www.phrases.org.uk/bulletin_board/23/messages/146.html

It means to steer a risky and difficult course between two policies... to be so near the edge of one that you risk falling into another less desirable one. All of which is a pretty unclear definition, so maybe an example might help.

"With his current policy approach towards Iraq, President Bush walks a fine line between the interests of national security and those of warmongering."

The metaphor's from tightrope walking, I'd guess.

A fine line is a very thin thread, silk or cotton perhaps.


NBC Nightly News : Sep. 22, 2008


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And just as everybody is trying to gaze(?) the impact of this financial crisis and the bailout plans, so too are the presidential candidates with 43 days to go now until election day. Both campaigns have been forced to walk a fine line as they seek to stay ahead of fast moving developments while also looking presidential and reacting to all this without overreacting. Both Obama and McCain were at it again today.
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