On the ropes

To be 'on the ropes' is to be on the verge of defeat, in dire straits, helpless, or under pressure. It derives from prize-fighting and was used literally from 1838 onwards, when ropes were first introduced to form a prize-fighting 'ring'. Before ropes were introduced, spectators would form a ring or circle around the fighters. Ropes, however, were difficult to erect in a circle, so they were erected in a square, but it was still called a boxing 'ring', as indeed it still is to this day. When a boxer pins another boxer on the ropes, he sometimes on the verge of defeat, in dire straits, helpless etc. Obviously, the expression is still used in a literal sense in boxing, but its figurative usage outside of boxing has become more frequent and popular from when ropes were first introduced in 1838. At a guess, it was being used figuratively from at least around 1900 if not before. Muhammad Ali, however, made nonsense of the accepted meaning of 'on the ropes' when he defeated the then world heavyweight champion George Foreman in 1974. Ali deliberately positioned himself 'on the ropes' to let Foreman tire himself out in a technique that was then dubbed ‘rope-a-dope’.