dance on a rope en · VERB
Meanings
-
(dated) To be hanged.
He sat and watched him dancing on a rope, choking and fighting for every breath, until his tongue swelled up in his mouth and his face turned black and still he struggled.
2011, Karen Maitland, The Gallows Curse:'Here. they arrest some jumped-up little rebel called Rose.' His finger hits nine o'clock. His voice rising with urgency. 'I meet her in my office, she shows no remorse. I think how lovely she'll look dancing on a rope.' He moves his finger close to the first line — the twelve o;clock line. 'I watch the bitch hang, the crowd turns and rips the gallows to the ground, then . . . Bam.'
2018, Anna Day, The Fandom:“I ain't no murderer and I don't care to dance on a rope!” “Me neither!” Gravelling's voice was just as shaky. “I'm lookin' at a few years, but not the hangman!”
2022, Robert McCammon, The King of Shadows:
- Used other than figuratively or idiomatically: see dance, rope.; to dance on a tightrope or slack rope as an entertainer.
Forms
| Spelling | Features | Labels | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| dances on a rope | Number=Sing, Person=3, Tense=Pres | lexicographic | |
| danced on a rope | Tense=Past, VerbForm=Part | lexicographic | |
| danced on a rope | Tense=Past | lexicographic | |
| dancing on a rope | Tense=Pres, VerbForm=Part | lexicographic |
Synonyms
dance the Tyburn jig · hang · truss · take a ride to Tyburn · stretch hemp · ride a horse foaled by an acorn · dance upon nothing · dance on nothing · trine · hang · string up · dance the hempen jig · swing · dance on a rope · swing · wag hemp · dangle