It’s not surprising to learn that the language of an island nation with a rich maritime history has a number of idioms related to sailing. The earliest recorded use of this phrase dates back to England and the 10th century.
New sailors signing on with a ship had to acquaint themselves with knot tying as well as handling the ropes for each individual sail on the ship. The better a sailor knew to tie and handle the ropes, the more valuable he was to the captain.
In this way, it paid to ‘know the ropes’ and a smart man was the one who learned the ropes as quickly and as efficiently as possible.
Historically Speaking 