Learn the ropes

Filed Under March 2007, columns 

Which one works the espresso machine?

Dear Word Detective: Many years ago, a high school teacher told me that the expression “showing or learning the ropes” came from the days of sailing ships whereby a new sailor had to learn the functions of all the rigging and lines which were, of course, what we refer to as “ropes.” Years later, a retired navy chief told me that the sailors in those days would have never called the lines and rigging aboard a ship “ropes.” It was a good way to get “dressed down” (a bit like a private who calls his rifle a “gun”). Years later, a museum curator stated that the expression came from teaching a new bell ringer in the church what notes would ring by pulling certain ropes tied at the bottom of the bell tower. But wait, there’s more! I was also told by an old cowboy that the expression came from the old days of roping cattle and wrangling horses. A new cowboy was shown the “tack” room where all the ropes were stored. Well, this is as far as I can go in my quest to learn the truth. Which do you prefer? A 10th grade school teacher, a retired navy guy or a burnt-out cowboy? — Orville.

You left out the museum curator. Actually, if you want to get the full range of stories about “learn the ropes,” you’ll have to seek out the tour guides at nearly any “historical” tourist attraction. Many of the best (i.e., weirdest) word and phrase origin stories I’ve heard come from these folks. There seems to be something about a ruffled bonnet or knee-britches that addles the brain.

In this case, we actually have two winners. The 10th grade school teacher and the retired navy guy are both right. “Know the ropes” (or “learn,” “teach” or “show”), where “ropes” means “how to do something; the inside knowledge,” does come from the world of sailing ships, where the layout and function of the various lines and sheets was the most fundamental and important knowledge a sailor could possess. The phrase first appeared in print in 1840, in the form “know the ropes” (”The captain, who … ‘knew the ropes,’ took the steering oar.”) in Richard Dana’s seafaring classic “Two Years Before the Mast.” It’s clear from that quotation that the term was already in use as a general metaphor for “knowing what to do,” and within a few years it had appeared in non-nautical contexts as well (”Tell me … about Canada, and show me the ropes,” 1860).

But it’s also true that no sailor of the day would have been caught dead calling lines and sheets (lines that control sails) “ropes.” But for landlubbers using the phrase metaphorically, “ropes” is clearer, and “knowing the lines” sounds like something only an actor would worry about.

 

 

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