rope-a-dope
verbEtymology See Rope-a-dope.
1
Figuratively To exhaust someone by stringing them along.
- Willis rope-a-doped us all night.
rope-a-dope
nounEtymology See Rope-a-dope.
1
Boxing, Government, Hobbies, Lifestyle, Martial arts, Military, Politics, Sports, War A technique in which the boxer assumes a defensive stance against the ropes and absorbs an opponent's blows, hoping to exploit eventual tiredness or a mistake.
- He sounded like a retired boxer who'd specialized in the rope-a-dope.1999, James W Hall, Tropical Freeze:
- I went into my own version of Ali's rope-a-dope, ducking as many of the heavy blows as I could, and waiting for some kind of idea to come to me.2003, Steve Hamilton, North of Nowhere:
2
Figuratively Any strategy where an apparently losing position is assumed in the hope of eventual victory.
- […] process that in recent years has degenerated, sadly, into one long scorched-earth campaign filled with partisan rancor and legislative rope-a-dope.2002, Steven Hill, Fixing Elections:
- Maybe, I suggested, it was the old rope-a-dope to lower expectations, but that was tougher for him than it had been in 2000: He was now the president.2007, Robert Shrum, No Excuses: Concessions of a Serial Campaigner: