tow-rope
(ˈtəʊrəʊp)
[f. tow v.1 + rope n.1]
A rope (hawser, cable, or the like) used in towing.
| 1743 Bulkeley & Cummins Voy. S. Seas 119 We called to them to take hold of a Towe-Rope, but they refused. 1801 Jefferson Writ. (ed. Ford) VIII. 75 You will follow the bark of liberty only by the help of a tow-rope. 1865 Dickens Mut. Fr. iii. viii, The tow-rope was slackened by a turn of the stream. |
Hence ˈtow-ˌroping, in railway-shunting, the drawing of a vehicle by an engine on a parallel line of rails by means of a rope connecting the two.
An illegal practice. See propping vbl. n. 3 for quots.