ball and chain

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.

High prices have hobbled Americans with a ball and chain.

From MarketWatch • Dec. 15, 2025

Alito offered no comment on this one, not even giving reporters a perfunctory point of the finger toward the ol’ ball and chain.

From Slate • May 25, 2024

As time went on, Veasley said her pain became like a ball and chain that got heavier and heavier.

From Salon • Oct. 9, 2023

We now know that the relationship we have with our means of communication is more complicated, that our phones have become less of a release than a perpetual ball and chain.

From New York Times • May 17, 2022

Thoroughly disgruntled, the sparrow hopped along like a feathered convict with a ball and chain, forced to follow the young mouse wherever he chose to wander.

From "Redwall" by Brian Jacques