A New York City man wonders if there’s any truth to the story that New Yorkers say they stand on line, as opposed to in line, because of lines painted on the floor at Ellis Island. Although such lines are useful for managing large queues, the origin of this usage is uncertain and cannot be traced to Ellis Island. What we do know is that New Yorkers have been using on line in this way for at least 100 years. This is part of a complete episode.
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