hang on vs hold the line

hang on

verb
  • To continually believe in something; to have faith in. 

  • To hold, grasp, or grip. 

  • To pay close attention to, or regard with (possibly obsequious) admiration. 

  • To depend upon. 

  • To keep; to store something for someone. 

  • To wait a moment. 

  • To persevere. 

hold the line

verb
  • To firmly maintain one's viewpoint, principles, or situation; to refuse to change one's practices or plans. 

How often have the words hang on and hold the line occurred in a corpus of books? (source: Google Ngram Viewer )