I am trying to use the idiom "learn the ropes" in a sentence as below:
I am learning the ropes of my new job.
Somehow, this doesn't "feel" right, and I think it should be:
I am learning the ropes on my new job.
Which usage is correct/better?
An elementary internet search for usage of this idiom gives the following examples. None of them are using the idiom in the manner I described above.
- You'd better find someone to show you the ropes if you're going to fix the car yourself.
- Work slowly and cautiously until you have learned the ropes.
- Ruth will teach you what to do, and it shouldn't take you too long to learn the ropes.
- It can take quite a while for a new lawyer to learn the ropes in a big legal firm.
- Fabulous, now that I've learned the ropes I can take on more demanding tasks!
- I want you to learn the ropes before you start doing anything more sophisticated!
Answer
Your intuition is right. The customary preposition there is “at”:
I am learning the ropes at my new job.
This search on Google Books brings up 2,700 results.
The reason for “at” is to indicate a location without regard to its shape or structure. If you imagine the job as a location, there are metaphorical “ropes” there which you have to learn. At other locations, “the ropes” are different.
It’s natural to say in or of when referring to a subject or a skill:
Very few people will help you learn the ropes in science.
Learning the ropes of science can take many years.
A job naturally has a location, but science doesn’t, so “at” would sound wrong there.
This search on Google Books brings up 7,850 results.
You can say this:
I am learning the ropes of my new job.
but it suggests that by “new job” you mean the occupation in general, not the specific place where you work. For example, you might learn the ropes of real estate by learning the ropes at Century 21. It's not wrong to say that you’re learning the ropes of Century 21, though.
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