rope's end

Where cord stops

A rope's end is literally the terminus of a rope, but the phrase carries historical weight from nautical punishment, where sailors were beaten with the knotted end of a rope as discipline.

The expression at rope's end or at the end of one's rope means exhausted of patience or resources, having nothing left to try.

After three hours on hold, I was at rope's end.

nautical

hawser

Thick nautical tethering rope

mooringVessel's secured resting place
riggingRopes controlling ship sails
cordageRopes and twines collectively

splice · whipping · fray · marlinspike · bowline · knot · tackle · line · cable · anchor

punishment

flogging

Beating as punishment

lashStrike or bind
cat-o'-nine-tailsBraided whip with nine strands
whippingRepeated striking blows

discipline · corporal · flagellation · caning · chastisement · correction · beating · starter · bosun · naval discipline

desperation

hopelessness

State without hope

despairTotal absence of hope
panicUncontrollable sudden fear
dire straitsSevere hardship or peril

last resort · exhaustion · helplessness · anguish · crisis · plight · predicament · turmoil · distress · agony

limit

threshold

Point of beginning

brinkCritical boundary point
edgeBoundary or sharpness
boundaryLine marking a limit

terminus · endpoint · extremity · final stretch · cutoff · margin · verge · tether · breaking point

rope's end

hawser

flogging

hopelessness

threshold

rope's end

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