A slippery hitch is a knot used to attach a line to a rod or bar. It does not provide great strength compared to some other knots, but it can be tied relatively quickly and released very easily. These characteristics mean that it is used on square-rigged ships for securing the gaskets that bind stowed sails to the yards.
The slippery hitch is effectively a clove hitch finished with a slipped loop. To tie one, begin as for a clove hitch, but instead of passing the end of the line through the loop in the final step, pass a bight instead, leaving the end on the original side. Pulling on this end will release the hitch. If tied in a gasket, this will quickly release the sail.
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Famous quotes containing the words slippery and/or hitch:
“We have got onto slippery ice where there is no friction and so in a certain sense the conditions are ideal, but also, just because of that, we are unable to walk. We want to walk so we need friction. Back to the rough ground!”
—Ludwig Wittgenstein (1889–1951)
“Now that is the wisdom of a man, in every instance of his labor, to hitch his wagon to a star, and see his chore done by the gods themselves. That is the way we are strong, by borrowing the might of the elements. The forces of steam, gravity, galvanism, light, magnets, wind, fire, serve us day by day and cost us nothing.”
—Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882)