rope
/rəʊp
/- My eyes came to rest on a long strand of thick hemp rope, slightly frazzled but still in one piece.
- A single strand of grass is easy to break, but if you weave enough of it together, you can get a nice, strong length of rope.
- He stood up with about a two-foot length of hefty hemp rope in his hands.
Synonyms
- The complete disregard for law and order which is so prevalent today is the direct result of the policies of the Government which resulted in the cane being abolished for disobedient schoolboys and the rope for murderers.
- Hw walked down to the ring and bounced back and forth off the ropes.
- How exquisite she would look in the rope of garnet beads my mother gave me years ago for a birthday present.
- He wore a rope of shining rubies around his neck and had a gold ring dangling from his right ear.
- She gingerly pulled the rope of pearls out of the box, staring at them in disbelief, as if she expected them to disappear any moment.
- He wants me to continue my studies there and learn the ropes of our business.
- A good staff is the institutional memory of your business; an important resource as you learn the ropes.
- If it is a big house, consider bringing in an experienced person to show you the ropes and help you figure out the mixes.
Synonyms
- They rope his hand and attach the other end to a door bolt and leave the poor dolt there.
- Nevertheless, as a precaution, the murderers roped their victims together and led them to a gully where any attempt to escape would be impeded before they went about their grisly business.
- They built a little hut out of a tarp, then roped their plastic ponchos together and hung it between to trees to make a ceiling.
Synonyms
- The area around the tree is roped off and reserved for those with special tickets.
- This year, it was finally decided that their crumbling site would be roped off, depriving the revellers of their usual spot.
- Walking in the rain because the escalators down to the dangerously overcrowded platforms have been roped off for safety.
- I can still see myself roping up, checking all of my knots, and peeking over at Mikey; hoping for a bit of encouragement or maybe just a bit of courage.
- Today the team roped up and headed up for a tour of the upper Khumbu Glacier.
- You could rope up and go ice climbing on the Kennicott or Root glaciers, or hike across the tundra to an alpine lake.
- We roped up at the base, did our cross-check, then climbed up a short wall and across easy slopes, traversing upward and left until we reached an obvious belay.
- So, once again we roped up and got ready to climb.
- The Rock Climbing Section minimized rope burn while rappelling (then called ‘roping down’) by feeding the rope through a carabiner, a metal link attached to their gear.
- While academicians and sitting district judges were the adjudicators for the semi-finals, three sitting judges of the High Court were roped in for the final.
- For the first time, acrobats from Russia have been roped in to ensure there is greater excitement.
- Lynda and some of her students had been on a field study in the Duddon Valley; Stuart had been roped in to drive the school mini-bus.
Synonyms
Phrases
give a man enough rope (or plenty of rope) and he will hang himself
money for old rope
on the rope
on the ropes
a rope of sand
Origin
Old English rāp, of Germanic origin; related to Dutch reep and German Reif.
This is one of the oldest English words, recorded as early as ad 725. A way of dealing with a person who is causing problems is to give them enough rope—in full give a man enough rope and he will hang himself. On the ropes is from boxing, and conjures up the picture of a losing contestant forced back by his opponent against the ropes that mark the sides of the ring. To show someone the ropes is to teach them the established way of doing things. The origins of this expression go back to the mid 19th century and the days of sailing ships. Skill in handling ropes and tying knots was essential for any sailor, and the idea was soon extended to other walks of life. A range of variations on the theme developed, including learn the ropes and the more familiar know the ropes. Ropy meaning ‘not very good’ is RAF slang, dating from the early 1940s. It probably derives from the phrase money for old rope (see money), although another idea links it to the old biplanes, festooned with ‘ropes’ or supporting wires, that were then being replaced by modern Spitfires and Hurricanes.