ratline

noun

Etymology: Apparently a corruption of raddling by folk-etymological reanalysis as rat + line.

1. The rope or similar material used to make cross-ropes on a ship.
2. Any of the cross ropes between the shrouds, which form a net-like ropework, allowing sailors to climb up towards the top of the mast.

   “[H]e laid hold of the first ratline with his right hand, then sprung to the second, with his left, and so on alternately, right and left, up to the last, close to the futtock shrouds.”

   “That meant it was not possible to use ratlines — that is, to make rope ladders out of the shrouds by adding small connecting pieces of ropes.”

3. A system of escape routes for Nazis and other fascists fleeing Europe in the aftermath of World War II.

   “Marc Masurovsky, of the European Shoah Legacy Institute, has a remarkable knowledge of the Nazi ratlines and Allied intelligence.”