top ropen.
/ˈtɒp rəʊp/, U.S. /ˈtɑp ˌroʊp/ 1. Nautical. A rope used to raise or lower the topmast. Frequently in plural.
ΘΚΠ
society > travel > travel by water > vessel, ship, or boat > equipment of vessel > masts, rigging, or sails > rigging > [noun] > fixed rigging > of topmast
top ropea1625
top line1841
a1625 H. Mainwaring Nomenclator Navalis (MS BL Harl. 2301) Top-Roapes are those Roapes wherewith wee sett or strike the Top-mastes.
1627 J. Smith Sea Gram. ii. 7 In those are foure shiuers apeece, three for the halyards and one for the top rope to run in.
1762 W. Falconer Shipwreck ii. 22 At each mast-head, the top-ropes, others bend.
1813 Seamanship Theory & Pract. (new ed.) 203 Hang the top mast by the hawser or toprope.
1919 Mariner's Mirror 5 96/2 The end of the top rope..fastened to a large double block or fiddle block.
2011 N. F. Howe Rigging & Gun Tackle Blocks of Swedish Royal Warship Vasa (M.A. thesis, E. Carolina Univ.) v. 92 Adding top ropes and mast tackles, the mainmast alone was saddled with 75 blocks of seven types and numerous sizes.
2. Mountaineering and Rock Climbing. A rope, fastened overhead to a fixed anchor point, on which a climber is belayed in order to climb, practise, or inspect a route.Often used as a means of assistance on a difficult route or section of a climb.
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society > leisure > sport > types of sport or game > mountaineering or climbing > [noun] > artificial aid > types of
runner1688
runner ring1791
ice axec1800
alpenstock1829
rope1838
climbing-iron1857
piolet1868
snap-link1875
prickera1890
middleman('s) knot (also loop, noose, etc.)1892
chock1894
glacier-rope1897
piton1898
run-out1901
belaying-pin1903
snap-ring1903
ironmongery1904
line1907
Tricouni1914
ice claw1920
peg1920
sling1920
ice piton1926
ice hammer1932
karabiner1932
rock piton1934
thread belay1935
mugger1941
running belay1941
piton hammer1943
sky-hook1951
etrier1955
pied d'éléphant1956
rope sling1957
piton runner1959
bong1960
krab1963
rurp1963
ice screw1965
nut1965
traverse line1965
jumar1966
knife-blade1968
tie-off1968
rock peg1971
whammer1971
Whillans whammer1971
Whillans harness1974
1952 Alpine Jrnl. Nov. 480 At last we were above the top rope and on to a part which the guide book describes as a veritable path to the summit.
1966 Climber Oct. 10/1 He..had a look at the last fifty feet of the Pillar on a top rope.
2021 @h_parsons 22 Feb. in twitter.com (accessed 10 Feb. 2022) Indoor rock climbing with a top rope in a controlled environment together with suitably qualified instructors would be a low-risk activity for people with a range of conditions.
Phrases
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the mind > emotion > excitement > riotous excitement > behave with riotous excitement [verb (intransitive)]
rehayte1526
tear1602
to play up1849
to whoop things up1873
to raise sand1892
to raise (also kick up, play, etc.) merry hell1931
to go ape1955
to go (also drive) bananas1957
the world > action or operation > manner of action > vigour or energy > act or do vigorously [verb (intransitive)] > act in thoroughgoing manner > go to great lengths
to go (all, etc.) lengths1698
1811 Lexicon Balatronicum (at cited word) To sway on all top ropes; to live riotously or extravagantly.
1833 Amer. Monthly Mag. Dec. 252 Away then for London they started and ‘swayed away upon all top-ropes’.
1868 W. Pengelly in H. Pengelly Mem. W. Pengelly (1897) xii. 188 The veteran..was on the top ropes about the meeting.
P2. Australian. to carry on (all) top ropes: to behave in a riotous or drunken way; (also) to make a great fuss. Now rare.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > emotion > excitement > riotous excitement > behave with riotous excitement [verb (intransitive)]
rehayte1526
tear1602
to play up1849
to whoop things up1873
to raise sand1892
to raise (also kick up, play, etc.) merry hell1931
to go ape1955
to go (also drive) bananas1957
1832 Tasmanian 5 Oct. 317/2 I can carry on all top ropes now; they can't call me a sly grog seller now.
1889 ‘Tasma’ Uncle Piper of Piper's Hill ii. iv. 95 I'd like you to show me another young man who could carry on top ropes like you. There's not many fathers ud have stood it.
1910 Ballarat (Victoria) Star 22 Sept. 6/1 They..adjourned to tho Salvation Army Barracks, where they were carrying on ‘top ropes’, singing, shouting, and using bad language.
2000 J. Bryant Written on Tide (e-book ed.) Must save some [cake] for Mary and her Dad else they'll carry on top ropes.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, September 2022).
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n.a1625