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Reader question: “Some say his hands are tied (politically)”. What does that mean? My comments: Politically explains that “his hands are tied” is a metaphor. They mean to say he couldn’t do what he promised to do due to political restrictions, not that his hands are actually tied behind his back, like a prisoner is sometimes thus tied up. YourDictionary.com says this idiom – someone’s hands are tied – was first recorded in 1642, and so you see it’s been in use quite a while. Physically, if you are tied to a chair like a torture victim and have both hands tied up too, there’s practically nothing you can do. Therefore, as a metaphor, to say your hands are tied is a good excuse to say that you’re restrained by some kind of restrictions or other. In other words, you cannot behave the way you normally would. Still in other words, you’re helpless. In the above example, when they say that his hands are tied politically, they mean to say he couldn’t do what he wanted to do because there are always other priorities on the political agenda. Or if he were a president, this might refer to the situation where he’s caught for going back on a campaign promise. For example, the president said on the campaign trail that, once elected, he would raise taxes for the rich. Once elected, however, he’s done nothing of the kind. Why not? Because his hands are tied. Once elected, he realizes that there are too many political foes wrestle with and that it would be political suicide to pursue drastic tax rises because all the rich people are opposed to it. | 
