Do You Wait in Line or on Line?

Sometimes all it takes is a single word to figure out where a person is from. For instance, if they say “soda” they might be from the Northeast, whereas someone who says “pop” is more likely to have grown up in the Midwest. Other regionalisms are less distinct, as they vary by just a single letter.

Such is the case with “wait in line” and “wait on line.” While the former is used by a majority of American English speakers, there’s a part of the country where the latter is far more common — in the Big Apple and its surrounding areas.

In most states, locals are likely to wait in line at the bank, an amusement park, or any other location where queues form. But as linguist Margaret Bryant noted in the 1962 work Current American Usage, the variation of “on line” was commonly used by people in the New York City area, and by folks north of the city throughout the Hudson Valley.

This isn’t to say that “on line” was or is exclusive to the NYC area. In fact, there’s plenty of evidence of “on line” appearing in print in publications in California and Texas, among others. But you are far more likely to hear a person say “on line” if you’re in New York City or the vicinity, and “in line” everywhere else.

But why? Well, there’s an urban legend that suggests this comes from Ellis Island. When immigrants were coming into the country through Ellis Island, they would stand atop and follow lines painted on the floor while they were waiting. That’s an interesting story, but it’s not likely the actual origin. The Ellis Island theory was discussed in an episode of “A Way With Words” podcast and the hosts brought up the idea that in the past painted lines were seen in many places where people gathered to line up, such as department stores and the post office. New York City, with its dense population, might have had more painted lines than other places. “On line” — seen in print going back at least 100 years — is almost certainly a regional linguistic quirk, akin to how New Yorkers say “on Long Island” instead of “in Long Island.” 

Another reason most of the country uses “in line” is to avoid confusion with the single word “online,” as in “related to the internet.” This certainly wasn’t the original reason, as both variants predate the internet by some time, but it helped cement the preference toward “in line.” 

Anecdotally, I was curious as to how our own editorial staff uses these phrases, because our team is composed of people who grew up all around the U.S. After polling my co-workers, I found that the regional divide held up. Team members who grew up in Pennsylvania, Florida, Southern California, Ohio, and Indiana all say “in line,” while the only other New York native and I say “on line.”

Linguistically, both options are considered to be acceptable. Just be careful using “in line” if you visit New York City — it may expose you as an out-of-towner.