O que significa as expressões to be on the line e to put it on the line? [expressões com a palavra LINE em Inglês parte 1]

Okay imagine you have a job that gives you authority enough to hire other people. The only thing that your boss demands is positive results - that means he doesn't care who you're hiring as long as they bring more money into his company. So suppose you have this very close friend of yours who's unemployed and he keeps asking you for a chance to work for that company. The thing is, despite knowing how difficult it is for him to get along with other people, you feel you can't say no to him. So you give him a chance. When a mutual friend of you two knows you've hired him, she says: I don't think you should give him this job just because he's your friend. If he causes you any trouble at work, maybe your boss will blame it on you. Your job is on the line.

When something's on the line, it means it is in a situation in which it could be lost or harmed. So if your friend tells you your job is on the line, what she means is that you can lose it. You can use that expression referring to anything that's at a lot of risk. For example, imagine you're a very well known writer and you're about to release the last book of a series everybody's dying for. You think too much expectation and pressure might lead to a lot of disappointed readers and therefore your pride is on the line when your book is published. What's on the line? your pride. Why's it on the line? Because it's at the risk of being harmed. Imagine how hurt you'd be if the last book of an entire series came to be a disaster. Your pride would be very harmed, wouldn't it? Our pride's always on the line when our name's involved. People try to avoid being under such pressure, but some professionals need to put it on the line everyday because it's part of their job. But wait, here's another way of saying that: to put it on the line. So take lawyers as an example. They have to put their own pride at risk everytime they have to defend someone. In other words, they have to put it on the line everyday - especially when their clients are not innocent. That's it for now guys. Take care!

PS: The expression to be on the line can also be taken literally as in "I'm trying to use the telephone, but my mom's on the line". That means she's speaking on the phone.