Thorough or special knowledge of a job

Mary makes all her dresses. She learned from her mother, who's a very good dressmaker and knows the ropes

Maria si fa da sola gli abiti che indossa. Ha imparato tutto da sua madre che è una sarta finita e conosce tutti i segreti del mestiere

In white-collar settings it's easy to see younger workers rely on mentors to help them learn the ropes and advance their careers

Nel settore impiegatizio è facile trovare giovani impiegati che si affidano a mèntori per imparare i segreti del mestiere e per fare carriera

In the days of sailing vessels, an experienced sailor was one who was familiar with the maze of ropes used for hoisting and controlling the ship's sails. As ropes were not learned in a day - on the contrary, it took time and help to learn how to handle them - a sailor could be more a hindrance than a help, until he literally "knew the ropes"