The rope's end

Rope's end. noun. The end of a rope; historically a short piece of rope used for flogging, especially for flogging a sailor. (Oxford English Dictionary).

For example:

John Masefield (1953) Conway. "The rope's end, or teaser, made one learn very quickly."

In reality this is a bit of old ship's rope that I found on Newburgh beach this morning. But then, as Mrs Talpa constantly reminds me, I do have a bit of an over-active imagination!