  We reassess the relation between classical lattice dimer models and the
continuum elastic description of a lattice of fluctuating polymers. In the
absence of randomness we determine the density and line tension of the polymers
in terms of the bond weights of hard-core dimers on the square and the
hexagonal lattice. For the latter, we demonstrate the equivalence of the
canonical ensemble for the dimer model and the grand-canonical description for
polymers by performing explicitly the continuum limit. Using this equivalence
for the random bond dimer model on a square lattice, we resolve a previously
observed discrepancy between numerical results for the random dimer model and a
replica approach for polymers in random media. Further potential applications
of the equivalence are briefly discussed.
