rope of sand
Proposed by a contributor, not yet supported by evidence.
Meaning · English
Something that is weak or ineffective
Literally: a rope made of sand
Where it’s used:
Used
Widespread English
Examples
The alliance proved to be a rope of sand when faced with opposition
AI-drafted example auto-approved by rule (illustrative, not a corpus attestation)
Sources & notes
Listed in Wiktionary’s “English idioms” category (retrieved 2026-07-29); definition pending editorial review. Definition drafted by AI (@cf/meta/llama-3.3-70b-instruct-fp8-fast) and auto-approved by rule on 2026-07-31; pending editor spot-check.
Common questions
What does “rope of sand” mean?
Something that is weak or ineffective Literally: a rope made of sand
Is “rope of sand” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.