get a line on

Idioms  

1. Also, have a line on. Acquire information about something or someone, come to know. For example, Sue got a line on some possible tennis partners, or The realtor has a line on a number of vacant apartments. Similarly, give someone a line on means “provide information about,” as in The librarian gave me a line on the books I would need. This idiom uses line in the sense of “a direct course.” [c. 1900] Also see get a fix on.

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Example Sentences

And in Texas, Mr. Kennedy will need about 81,000 people to participate in precinct conventions in order for his party to get a line on the general-election ballot.

From New York Times • Jan. 16, 2024

The state is trying to get a line on where new investments in mental-health care should be made and how they can be managed.

From Washington Post • Jul. 27, 2018

“It was her first time in a turf race, and I was just trying to get a line on her,” Snyder said.

From New York Times • Sep. 2, 2010

To get a line on women's likes & dislikes, he tried a door-to-door canvass, but busy housewives gave him the brushoff.

From Time Magazine Archive

Advancing up the ridge out of pistol range the little man would eventually get a line on the back of Kyril Montana’s rock.

From "The Milagro Beanfield War" by John Nichols