out of line

[vil]

Dear teachers,

Would you tell me your opinion about the interpretation of the expression in bold in the following sentences?

He knew that what he was now doing marked a turning point in his life – it was out of line with everything that had proceeded it. (F. S. Fitzgerald, “Tender Is the Night”)

I thought your behavior at the meeting was a bit out of line.

out of line = irrelevant, wrong, unacceptable

Thank you for your efforts.

Regards,

V.

[Khosro]

I learn English and at the same time I teach english.
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No , certainly not "irrelevant". And "wrong" is not appropriate here.
But yes, "unacceptable" for the second sentence.

"Out of line with" is different from "out of line"

The second one as you see in the second sentence is about someone's behaviour, when it is unacceptable and other's do not approve of it. The first one mainly means "To be in disagreement with".

Sorry, this is just a short reply. We can discuss it in length if there is still ambiguity about it. Or if you don't understand "to be in disagreement with" well.

[vil]

Hi Khosro,

Thank you for your assistance.

I see what you mean. Take it easy – you are the teacher and I’m only your apprentice.

And yet, in my poor opinion, English is a very strange language remarkable for its unusual plasticity and inconceivable universality.

Here is another interpretation of the expression in question:

The last remark was out of line.

Sorry is I was out of line last evening.

out of line = insolent, impudent


V.

[Khosro]

Hi Khosro,

The last remark was out of line.

Sorry is I was out of line last evening.

out of line = insolent, impudent


V.

I learn English and at the same time teach English.
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As I see you usually write synonyms. That's a good way to improve your vocabulary. Now you can also get familiar with insolent and impudent and you can say "that was an inpudent remark". But I do not approve of it as a good way to learn "out of line" itself. just pay attention to "line". line, road, path, right path, ... and then you see that both "out of line with" and "out of line" become simple expressions.

[susiedqq]

In your example, out of line with = not his usual behavior

You can also say;

The child was out of line with his teachers. In this example, it means
acted inappropriately, defiant, insolent, etc.

His remark was out of line. Inappropriate, bizarre, not understandable, etc.

Yes, English is a difficult landguage. You must look at each sentence to see the words' intentions.