bound hand and foot

1. 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

Serhiy Hozhulovsky, driving an American-provided armored vehicle, was transporting one Russian prisoner of war who was bound hand and foot, his eyes covered with duct tape.

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“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.”

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There, bound hand and foot, lay the still form of Ellidyr.

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In the days before he was presented to the press on Aug. 31, Mr. Rusesabagina remained bound hand and foot, unable to properly breathe or use the bathroom, and held in a location he described as a “slaughterhouse” where he heard the screams of other detainees, according to an affidavit by one of his Rwandan lawyers, Jean-Félix Rudakemwa.

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

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