Meaning of ball and chain | Babel Free

Definitions

1. A heavy iron ball attached to a prisoner's leg by a chain as a means of restraint.
2. One's wife, as a symbol of restraint.
   derogatory, slang
3. Anything that restricts one's freedom or opportunities.
   figuratively

Equivalents

Examples

“Well, I got one foot on the platform / The other foot on the train / I'm goin' back to New Orleans / To wear that ball and chain”

“Take away this ball and chain”

“Their business model of the 1920s and 1930s, which had catapulted the business to undreamt-of heights, had then turned into something of a ball and chain.”

“Now 2015 feels like a very long time ago, and the charitable origins have turned into a ball and chain for OpenAI.”

CEFR level