bound hand and foot

Idioms

Wholly obligated, unable to free oneself. For example, These rules have us bound hand and foot; we can't even discuss the matter. This term transfers the literal meaning, having one's hands and feet tied and therefore unable to move, to legal, moral, or social obligations. The expression dates from the 10th century a.d.

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

“We are not allowed to throw a punch until we get hit. In any emergency, we are bound hand and foot because we set advanced limits on ourselves about when to respond.”

From Washington Post • Apr. 15, 2023

"We should not just sit and watch domestic defense production bases and technological platforms deteriorate in a situation in which we are bound hand and foot," it quoted him as saying.

From Reuters • Oct. 11, 2010

“That is what the audience says when a person bound hand and foot is shut into a cabinet—and disappears.”

From "Murder on the Orient Express" by Agatha Christie

And Neleus for a year’s term sequestered Melampous’ fields and flocks, while he lay bound hand and foot in the keep of Phylakos.

From "The Odyssey" by Homer

Amid shouts of delight from the crowd, the heralds were bound hand and foot with cords.

From The Golden Hope A Story of the Time of King Alexander the Great by Fuller, Robert H.

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023