noun
( plural balls and chains )
Etymology: so called from the ball and chain stereotypically attached to prisoners' legs to prevent escape
1. : something that severely restricts one's activity usually oppressively
marriage, intended to enslave woman, was also a ball and chain for man — H.M.Parshley
his aristocratic birth proved a ball and chain throughout his life
2. slang : wife
this is a book for females, but if any male can get the ball and chain to read it, maybe the skillets won't fly so fast — Burton Rascoe