"with one hand tied behind one's back" meaning in English

See with one hand tied behind one's back in All languages combined, or Wiktionary

Adverb

Forms: with one arm tied behind one's back [alternative]
Head templates: {{head|en|adverb}} with one hand tied behind one's back
  1. (informal, figuratively) Easily, without much effort. Tags: figuratively, informal Synonyms: hands down, one-handed, with one's eyes closed, standing on one's head
    Sense id: en-with_one_hand_tied_behind_one's_back-en-adv-yswsm4fS Categories (other): English entries with incorrect language header, Pages with 1 entry, Pages with entries Disambiguation of English entries with incorrect language header: 87 13 Disambiguation of Pages with 1 entry: 95 5 Disambiguation of Pages with entries: 96 4
  2. (informal, figuratively) Hampered by factors outside one’s control. Tags: figuratively, informal
    Sense id: en-with_one_hand_tied_behind_one's_back-en-adv-lLX~LGM0

Alternative forms

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  "forms": [
    {
      "form": "with one arm tied behind one's back",
      "tags": [
        "alternative"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "head_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "adverb"
      },
      "expansion": "with one hand tied behind one's back",
      "name": "head"
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  ],
  "lang": "English",
  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "adv",
  "senses": [
    {
      "categories": [
        {
          "_dis": "87 13",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "English entries with incorrect language header",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "95 5",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Pages with 1 entry",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "96 4",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Pages with entries",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "Easily, without much effort."
      ],
      "id": "en-with_one_hand_tied_behind_one's_back-en-adv-yswsm4fS",
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(informal, figuratively) Easily, without much effort."
      ],
      "synonyms": [
        {
          "word": "hands down"
        },
        {
          "word": "one-handed"
        },
        {
          "word": "with one's eyes closed"
        },
        {
          "word": "standing on one's head"
        }
      ],
      "tags": [
        "figuratively",
        "informal"
      ]
    },
    {
      "categories": [],
      "examples": [
        {
          "bold_text_offsets": [
            [
              121,
              156
            ]
          ],
          "text": "The boss won’t let us follow our normal procedures because he thinks it will take too long, so we’re effectively working with one hand tied behind our backs.",
          "type": "example"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "Hampered by factors outside one’s control."
      ],
      "id": "en-with_one_hand_tied_behind_one's_back-en-adv-lLX~LGM0",
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(informal, figuratively) Hampered by factors outside one’s control."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "figuratively",
        "informal"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "word": "with one hand tied behind one's back"
}
{
  "categories": [
    "English adverbs",
    "English entries with incorrect language header",
    "English lemmas",
    "English multiword terms",
    "Pages with 1 entry",
    "Pages with entries"
  ],
  "forms": [
    {
      "form": "with one arm tied behind one's back",
      "tags": [
        "alternative"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "head_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "adverb"
      },
      "expansion": "with one hand tied behind one's back",
      "name": "head"
    }
  ],
  "lang": "English",
  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "adv",
  "senses": [
    {
      "categories": [
        "English informal terms"
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "Easily, without much effort."
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(informal, figuratively) Easily, without much effort."
      ],
      "synonyms": [
        {
          "word": "hands down"
        },
        {
          "word": "one-handed"
        },
        {
          "word": "with one's eyes closed"
        },
        {
          "word": "standing on one's head"
        }
      ],
      "tags": [
        "figuratively",
        "informal"
      ]
    },
    {
      "categories": [
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        "English terms with usage examples"
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "bold_text_offsets": [
            [
              121,
              156
            ]
          ],
          "text": "The boss won’t let us follow our normal procedures because he thinks it will take too long, so we’re effectively working with one hand tied behind our backs.",
          "type": "example"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "Hampered by factors outside one’s control."
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(informal, figuratively) Hampered by factors outside one’s control."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "figuratively",
        "informal"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "word": "with one hand tied behind one's back"
}

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This page is a part of the kaikki.org machine-readable English dictionary. This dictionary is based on structured data extracted on 2025-06-16 from the enwiktionary dump dated 2025-06-01 using wiktextract (074e7de and f1c2b61). The data shown on this site has been post-processed and various details (e.g., extra categories) removed, some information disambiguated, and additional data merged from other sources. See the raw data download page for the unprocessed wiktextract data.

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