ON THE FIRING LINE là tuyến lửa, nơi súng được nhắm vào một mục tiêu. Thành ngữ này còn được dùng để chỉ một tình thế khiến một đối tượng bị chỉ trích hay đả kích.
 
Một hội đồng thành phố đang gặp khó khăn với cư dân vì những quy luật mà họ mới đưa ra. Một cư dân cho biết:
 
The council members of the town I live in are under attack. They recently raised fees on everything from construction permits to dog licenses. At a meeting with citizens, they were clearly ON THE FIRING LINE. For three hours, they were grilled about why citizens had to pay more, and the citizenss were not completely happy with their answers.

GETTYSBURG, Pa. In solemnity, thousands gathered on a central Pennsylvania battlefield park Tuesday to honor a speech given 150 years ago that President Abraham Lincoln predicted would not be long remembered.

The inspirational and famously short Gettysburg Address was praised for reinvigorating national ideals of freedom, liberty and justice amid a Civil War that had torn the country into pieces.