stopper · holds at the end · 1·3
a stopper. tied in the end of a line so the end cannot pull through. neat to look at, easy to undo even after weight. when the rope is wet and stiff with salt and your hands are cold, this is the knot you can still see in your hands.
the line that runs the small window blind is finished with one. on the ferry the loose ends of every safety line wear them. when a child first asks how a rope ends, this is the answer i give.
its older cousin is the figure-eight on a bight — a loop in the middle of a line — used by climbers. the family is one shape, drawn larger.
— the difference between a stopper and an ornament is loading.