E. Cobham Brewer 1810–1897. Dictionary of Phrase and Fable. 1898.
Top Ropes.
A display of the topropes. A show of gushing friendliness; great promise of help. The top-rope is the rope used in hauling the top-mast up or down.
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“This display of the top-ropes was rather new to me, for time had blurred from my memory the ‘General’s’ rhapsodies.”—C. Thomson: Autobiography, p. 189.
