rope

give someone enough rope (or plenty of rope) give a person enough freedom of action to bring about their own downfall.

☞ The fuller form of this expression is the proverb give a man enough rope and he will hang himself, which has been in use in various forms since the mid 17th century.

know the ropes: seeknow.

money for old rope: see money for jam atmoney.

on the ropes in a desperate position; in a state of near collapse or defeat.

☞ This is an idiom from boxing, alluding to the situation of a losing boxer who is forced back by his opponent against the ropes that mark the sides of the boxing ring. First recorded, in its literal sense, in the early 19th century, the phrase has been in figurative use since at least the 1920s.

a rope of sand used in allusion to something that provides only illusory security or coherence. literary