"dance on a rope" meaning in English

{
  "forms": [
    {
      "form": "dances on a rope",
      "tags": [
        "present",
        "singular",
        "third-person"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "dancing on a rope",
      "tags": [
        "participle",
        "present"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "danced on a rope",
      "tags": [
        "participle",
        "past"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "danced on a rope",
      "tags": [
        "past"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "head_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "*"
      },
      "expansion": "dance on a rope (third-person singular simple present dances on a rope, present participle dancing on a rope, simple past and past participle danced on a rope)",
      "name": "en-verb"
    }
  ],
  "lang": "English",
  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "verb",
  "senses": [
    {
      "categories": [
        {
          "_dis": "53 47",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "English entries with incorrect language header",
          "parents": [
            "Entries with incorrect language header",
            "Entry maintenance"
          ],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        }
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "ref": "2011, Karen Maitland, The Gallows Curse",
          "text": "He sat and watched him dancing on a rope, choking and fighting for every breath, until his tongue swelled up in his mouth and his face turned black and still he struggled.",
          "type": "quotation"
        },
        {
          "ref": "2018, Anna Day, The Fandom",
          "text": "'Here. they arrest some jumped-up little rebel called Rose.' His finger hits nine o'clock. His voice rising with urgency. 'I meet her in my office, she shows no remorse. I think how lovely she'll look dancing on a rope.' He moves his finger close to the first line — the twelve o;clock line. 'I watch the bitch hang, the crowd turns and rips the gallows to the ground, then . . . Bam.'",
          "type": "quotation"
        },
        {
          "ref": "2022, Robert McCammon, The King of Shadows",
          "text": "“I ain't no murderer and I don't care to dance on a rope!” “Me neither!” Gravelling's voice was just as shaky. “I'm lookin' at a few years, but not the hangman!”",
          "type": "quotation"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "To be hanged."
      ],
      "id": "en-dance_on_a_rope-en-verb-EIDqrMik",
      "links": [
        [
          "hang",
          "hang"
        ]
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(dated) To be hanged."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "dated"
      ]
    },
    {
      "categories": [
        {
          "_dis": "53 47",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "English entries with incorrect language header",
          "parents": [
            "Entries with incorrect language header",
            "Entry maintenance"
          ],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "Used other than figuratively or idiomatically: see dance, rope.; to dance on a tightrope or slack rope as an entertainer."
      ],
      "id": "en-dance_on_a_rope-en-verb-8uO~HB6B",
      "links": [
        [
          "dance",
          "dance#English"
        ],
        [
          "rope",
          "rope#English"
        ]
      ]
    }
  ],
  "word": "dance on a rope"
}

{
  "categories": [
    "English entries with incorrect language header",
    "English lemmas",
    "English multiword terms",
    "English verbs"
  ],
  "forms": [
    {
      "form": "dances on a rope",
      "tags": [
        "present",
        "singular",
        "third-person"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "dancing on a rope",
      "tags": [
        "participle",
        "present"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "danced on a rope",
      "tags": [
        "participle",
        "past"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "danced on a rope",
      "tags": [
        "past"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "head_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "*"
      },
      "expansion": "dance on a rope (third-person singular simple present dances on a rope, present participle dancing on a rope, simple past and past participle danced on a rope)",
      "name": "en-verb"
    }
  ],
  "lang": "English",
  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "verb",
  "senses": [
    {
      "categories": [
        "English dated terms",
        "English terms with quotations"
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "ref": "2011, Karen Maitland, The Gallows Curse",
          "text": "He sat and watched him dancing on a rope, choking and fighting for every breath, until his tongue swelled up in his mouth and his face turned black and still he struggled.",
          "type": "quotation"
        },
        {
          "ref": "2018, Anna Day, The Fandom",
          "text": "'Here. they arrest some jumped-up little rebel called Rose.' His finger hits nine o'clock. His voice rising with urgency. 'I meet her in my office, she shows no remorse. I think how lovely she'll look dancing on a rope.' He moves his finger close to the first line — the twelve o;clock line. 'I watch the bitch hang, the crowd turns and rips the gallows to the ground, then . . . Bam.'",
          "type": "quotation"
        },
        {
          "ref": "2022, Robert McCammon, The King of Shadows",
          "text": "“I ain't no murderer and I don't care to dance on a rope!” “Me neither!” Gravelling's voice was just as shaky. “I'm lookin' at a few years, but not the hangman!”",
          "type": "quotation"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "To be hanged."
      ],
      "links": [
        [
          "hang",
          "hang"
        ]
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(dated) To be hanged."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "dated"
      ]
    },
    {
      "glosses": [
        "Used other than figuratively or idiomatically: see dance, rope.; to dance on a tightrope or slack rope as an entertainer."
      ],
      "links": [
        [
          "dance",
          "dance#English"
        ],
        [
          "rope",
          "rope#English"
        ]
      ]
    }
  ],
  "word": "dance on a rope"
}