rope of sand

rope of sand

Something that is not as strong or stable as it seems. Yes, you're a fool to trust him, and this allegiance will soon prove to be a rope of sand. I thought I finally had a strong bond with my mother, but it was just a rope of sand—she's left us once again.
See also: of, rope, sand
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms.

a rope of sand

used in allusion to something that provides only illusory security or coherence. literary
See also: of, rope, sand
Farlex Partner Idioms Dictionary
See also:
  • a rope of sand
  • bow to (someone or something)
  • any fool can/could...
  • any fool could (do something)
  • fool
  • any fule kno
  • bow before
  • bow before (someone)
  • bow down before (someone)
  • a wise man of Gotham
References in periodicals archive
(48.) "At a stroke the whole context of the Zulu-Boer dispute and the Anglo-Zulu relations was dramatically transformed." Laband, Rope of Sand, 185.
Schreuder, The Scramble for Southern Africa (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1980), 150; Laband, Rope of Sand, 189; Entry 13 February 1879.
Imperial strategy and the Anglo--Zulu War of 1879
A Rope of Sand: The AFL-CIO Committee on Political Education, 1955-1967
A Rope of Sand: The AFL-CIO Committee on Political Education, 1955-1967