Fairground people / gypsies always referred to Tow Rope - with a hard "W" - like Toww, whereas our Dads and Uncles etc.referred to them with a soft "W" as in Toe.
I'm still convinced for example that the song Dainty Davie ( see a different thread ) has a misspelt word curly "pow" - it makes sense for it to be a curly tow ( rope ). Many many people are trying to justify the existence of the word "pow", however,coming from Middlesbrough I am quite happy to accept a simple spelling mistake ,as , when our town got its royal charter (or whatever the exact thing was called ) the Town Clerk mispelt the name by not putting an "o" in between the "b" and the "r" like normal English town names - end of mystery !!!
Incidentally it would have been a prized and expensive piece of equipment in the days when these songs evolved , and definitely a " must have " for the daring night visitor.
Hal and Tow - I'll stick to my previous assertions - the English language has evolved gently and I can't believe the words Hal and Tow have changed so dramatically as some would like , or suppose.