lane
n.— «Critics question whether a strictly narrow construction of the American role will sacrifice the heart of the NATO military mission: Providing enough political stability for U.S. troops to go home within a year and leave behind a genuine peace. “I don’t go outside my lane,” said Col. Gregory Fontenot, who commands 4,000 U.S. troops deployed in the Posavina corridor.» —“U.S. Forces Treading Lightly In Bosnia” by Tom Hundley Chicago Tribune Jan. 21, 1996. (source: Double-Tongued Dictionary)
Further reading
The archaic English word ruelle means “the space between a bed and the wall.” It’s adapted from French ruelle meaning “a small alley or lane.” This is part of a complete episode.
Related
Loretta in Shreveport, Louisiana, wants to know what lexical and dialectal clues linguists look for when guessing where someone is from. She also wonders: Do people with long careers in the military or who grew up in a military family have a...