Know the ropes

    懂得诀窍

    A: I have been practicing on a skateboard everyday since last week, but I still cannot keep balance on it for 30 seconds.

    B: Be patient, buddy. You have to practice at least for a few weeks before you really know the ropes.

    Note: This idiom means to "understand how to do something and be acquainted with all the methods required." It may have a nautical origin. Sailors had to learn which rope raised which sail and also had to learn a myriad of knots. There is also a suggestion that it comes from the world of the theater, where ropes are used to raise scenery. The first citation comes in Richard H. Dana Jr.'s Two years before the mast, 1840: The captain, who had been on the coast before and "knew the ropes," took the steering oar.