definitions

enough rope, give someone

Allow someone to continue on a course and then suffer its consequences. For example, The auditor knew something was wrong but decided to give the chief accountant enough rope. This expression, a shortening of enough rope to hang oneself, was already proverbial in John Ray's English Proverbs (1678).

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Nearby words

enos, enosis, enostosis, enough, enough is enough, enough rope, give someone, enough said, enough to sink a ship, enounce, enovid, enow
The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.