on the ropes
idiomatic adjective phrase

- (sports) knocked against the ropes that enclose a boxing ring

- on the verge of defeat or collapse; hopeless or powerless

(The American Heritage Dictionary)

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The expression "on the ropes" comes from boxing and the situation when a boxer is being knocked around by his opponent and either falls or leans back against the ropes. He is then said to be "on the ropes" and perhaps about to be knocked out. The phrase is used in other sports disciplines to describe a competitor or a team that is about to be defeated.

On the ropes is also applied outside of sports in a figurative sense to describe something/someone on the verge of defeat or ruin. This might include a company about to go bankrupt, a politician nearing defeat in an election, or a highly-visible businessperson who is under pressure to resign because of a controversy.

Boxing great Muhammad Ali intentionally used the ropes as a tactic during some of this fights. He called it the "rope-a-dope" (he added "dope" only because it rhymes with rope). The strategy involved leaning against the ropes and letting his opponent throw lots of punches in the hope that he would tire out quickly. Ali would then counter-attack when he thought his opponent was too exhausted to defend himself.

Rope can be found in several other idioms and phrasal verbs:

- learn the ropes = to learn specialised knowledge (He learned the ropes from one of the more experienced employees)

- at the end of one's rope = the limit of one's patience, endurance, or resources (After working for nearly 16 hours, they were at the end of their rope)

- rope in = to persuade someone to do or get involved in something (The other parents roped me in to help out at the school charity event)

- rope off = to enclose, separate, or partition with or as if with a rope (The police roped off the crime scene to keep curious onlookers away)

- rope into = to trick or deceive (A dishonest salesman roped the older lady into investing in property that doesn't exist)

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Practice OWAD in a conversation:

"We were ON THE ROPES for most of the negotiation, but we won in the end."