On

[James E. Clapp]

The New Yawk City use of "on line" for "in line" popped up in an amusing
context (well, the sentence was amusing; the broader context was not) in
a local television news report I heard yesterday--an account of the
troubled background of the most recent mentally disturbed person to be
mowed down by New York City police:

"He took a number of computer courses to try to get his life back on
line."

Which gives an occasion to ask whether it is just New York sportscasters
or is it a nationwide fad to substitute "on" for "for" in all sentences
of the type: "He's had three hits on the day."

James E. Clapp