"have one's hands tied" meaning in English

{
  "forms": [
    {
      "form": "has one's hands tied",
      "tags": [
        "present",
        "singular",
        "third-person"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "having one's hands tied",
      "tags": [
        "participle",
        "present"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "had one's hands tied",
      "tags": [
        "participle",
        "past"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "had one's hands tied",
      "tags": [
        "past"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "head_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "have<has,,had> one's hands tied"
      },
      "expansion": "have one's hands tied (third-person singular simple present has one's hands tied, present participle having one's hands tied, simple past and past participle had one's hands tied)",
      "name": "en-verb"
    }
  ],
  "lang": "English",
  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "verb",
  "senses": [
    {
      "categories": [
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "English entries with incorrect language header",
          "parents": [
            "Entries with incorrect language header",
            "Entry maintenance"
          ],
          "source": "w"
        },
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Entries with translation boxes",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w"
        },
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Pages with 1 entry",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w"
        },
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Pages with entries",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w"
        },
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Terms with Finnish translations",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w"
        },
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Terms with French translations",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w"
        },
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Terms with Greek translations",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w"
        },
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Terms with Icelandic translations",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w"
        },
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Terms with Turkish translations",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w"
        }
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "text": "I'm sorry, there's nothing I can do. My hands are tied.",
          "type": "example"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "To be powerless to act, to be thwarted."
      ],
      "id": "en-have_one's_hands_tied-en-verb-5cd1EB-m",
      "links": [
        [
          "powerless",
          "powerless"
        ],
        [
          "thwart",
          "thwart"
        ]
      ],
      "related": [
        {
          "word": "tie someone's hands"
        },
        {
          "word": "have one's hands full"
        },
        {
          "word": "with one hand tied behind one's back"
        }
      ],
      "translations": [
        {
          "code": "fi",
          "lang": "Finnish",
          "note": "olla kädet sidottuna (more often (genitive/possessive suffix +) kädet ovat sidotut)",
          "sense": "be powerless to act"
        },
        {
          "code": "fr",
          "lang": "French",
          "sense": "be powerless to act",
          "word": "avoir les mains liées"
        },
        {
          "code": "el",
          "lang": "Greek",
          "roman": "déno ta chéria",
          "sense": "be powerless to act",
          "word": "δένω τα χέρια"
        },
        {
          "code": "is",
          "lang": "Icelandic",
          "sense": "be powerless to act",
          "word": "vera bundinn í báða skó"
        },
        {
          "code": "tr",
          "lang": "Turkish",
          "sense": "be powerless to act",
          "word": "eli kolu bağlı olmak"
        }
      ]
    }
  ],
  "word": "have one's hands tied"
}

{
  "forms": [
    {
      "form": "has one's hands tied",
      "tags": [
        "present",
        "singular",
        "third-person"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "having one's hands tied",
      "tags": [
        "participle",
        "present"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "had one's hands tied",
      "tags": [
        "participle",
        "past"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "had one's hands tied",
      "tags": [
        "past"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "head_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "have<has,,had> one's hands tied"
      },
      "expansion": "have one's hands tied (third-person singular simple present has one's hands tied, present participle having one's hands tied, simple past and past participle had one's hands tied)",
      "name": "en-verb"
    }
  ],
  "lang": "English",
  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "verb",
  "related": [
    {
      "word": "tie someone's hands"
    },
    {
      "word": "have one's hands full"
    },
    {
      "word": "with one hand tied behind one's back"
    }
  ],
  "senses": [
    {
      "categories": [
        "English entries with incorrect language header",
        "English lemmas",
        "English multiword terms",
        "English terms with usage examples",
        "English verbs",
        "Entries with translation boxes",
        "Pages with 1 entry",
        "Pages with entries",
        "Terms with Finnish translations",
        "Terms with French translations",
        "Terms with Greek translations",
        "Terms with Icelandic translations",
        "Terms with Turkish translations"
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "text": "I'm sorry, there's nothing I can do. My hands are tied.",
          "type": "example"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "To be powerless to act, to be thwarted."
      ],
      "links": [
        [
          "powerless",
          "powerless"
        ],
        [
          "thwart",
          "thwart"
        ]
      ]
    }
  ],
  "translations": [
    {
      "code": "fi",
      "lang": "Finnish",
      "note": "olla kädet sidottuna (more often (genitive/possessive suffix +) kädet ovat sidotut)",
      "sense": "be powerless to act"
    },
    {
      "code": "fr",
      "lang": "French",
      "sense": "be powerless to act",
      "word": "avoir les mains liées"
    },
    {
      "code": "el",
      "lang": "Greek",
      "roman": "déno ta chéria",
      "sense": "be powerless to act",
      "word": "δένω τα χέρια"
    },
    {
      "code": "is",
      "lang": "Icelandic",
      "sense": "be powerless to act",
      "word": "vera bundinn í báða skó"
    },
    {
      "code": "tr",
      "lang": "Turkish",
      "sense": "be powerless to act",
      "word": "eli kolu bağlı olmak"
    }
  ],
  "word": "have one's hands tied"
}