A burden and restraint, as in Karen regarded her job as a ball and chain, but she needed the money. The term, dating from the early 1800s, alludes to chaining a heavy iron ball to a prisoner's leg. Later it was transferred to other kinds of restraining burden.
ball and chain
| Idioms: ball and chain |
| WordNet: ball and chain |
Note: click on a word meaning below to see its connections and related words.
The noun has one meaning:
Meaning #1:
heavy iron ball attached to a prisoner by a chain
| Best of the Web: ball and chain |
Some good "ball and chain" pages on the web:
 Phrase www.phrases.org.uk |
 Drink Recipe www.webtender.com |
| Shopping: ball and chain |
Learn More
 | affianced |
| chain (Idiom) |
| Heroes (1991 Album by Paul Overstreet) |
Help us answer these
 | Who wrote the song Ball and Chain? |
| Ball and Chain by Dale Watson what are the lyrics? |
| How do you start a monkey ball key chain with string? |
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Copyrights:
 |
 | Idioms. The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer. Copyright © 1997 by The Christine Ammer 1992 Trust. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved. Read more |
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| WordNet. WordNet 1.7.1 Copyright © 2001 by Princeton University. All rights reserved. Read more |
Related answers
- Zelda ball and chain?
- Another saying for ball and chain?
- What is the sport called in the olympics that has a ball connected to a chain?
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Answer these
- How do you disconnect a ball chain?
- When was the ball and chain invented?
- To wear you like a ball and chain?
Mentioned in
- affianced
- chain (Idiom)
- Heroes (1991 Album by Paul Overstreet)
- Sings the Blues (1989 Album by Trudy Lynn)
- Wakened by the Wind (1991 Album by Susan Ashton)
- Big Brother and the Holding Company: Ball and Chain (1967 Music Film)
- Ball n' Chain (1968 Album by Big Mama Thornton)
- ball (Idiom)
- Live at Winterland '68 (1998 Album by Janis Joplin with Big Brother and the Holding Co.)
- Tribal Stomp (Album by Big Brother & the Holding Company)
- Jump Up and Boogie: The New Swing Collection (1998 Album by Various Artists)
- Cheaper Thrills (1984 Album by Big Brother and the Holding Company)
- Scars (2002 Album by Gary Moore)
- Big Brother and the Holding Co. With Janis Joplin: Nine Hundred Nights (2001 Music Film)
