To be familiar with a task.
Up until the 20th Century sailing ships had vast numbers of ropes and a crewman would not be effective unless he 'knew all the ropes'.
The first known appearance in print is in Richard Henry Dana's Two Years Before The Mast in 1840, in which he wrote 'the captain, who ....knew the ropes, took the steering oar.'
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News of the World
A brilliant work of historical fiction that explores the boundaries of family, responsibility, honor, and trust.
The Essex Serpent
by Sarah Perry
Costa Book Award Finalist and the Waterstones (UK) Book of the Year 2016
Reader Reviews
A richly layered novel of hearts broken seemingly beyond repair and then bound by a stunning act of human devotion.
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