Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • adjective Relating to or being a strategy in boxing in which one fighter covers up and often leans back against the ropes to allow the opponent to become exhausted by throwing punches so that the opponent cannot defend effectively late in the fight and is thus defeated.
  • adjective Relating to or being a strategy in which one behaves passively or with little aggression until an opportune moment arises for successful action.
  • noun A rope-a-dope strategy or course of action.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun boxing 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.
  • noun figuratively Any strategy where an apparently losing position is assumed in the hope of eventual victory.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • noun a boxing tactic: pretending to be trapped against the ropes while your opponent wears himself out throwing punches

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[Coined by Muhammad Ali in reference to his strategy in defeating the younger George Foreman for the heavyweight title in 1974.]

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

Coined by the boxer Muhammad Ali.

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