Meaning:
A 20th century slang term, meaning wife.
Background:
The allusion being to the presumption that a man's wife held him back from
doing the things he really wanted to.
This, of course, refers back to the actual ball and chain, which was a heavy
metal ball secured to a prisoner's leg by means of a chain and manacle. The
ball and chain was in use in both Britain and the USA by the early 19th
century (and possibly much earlier). The earliest citation in print is from
The Times, January 1819:
"They sentence the prisoner to receive 50 stripes on his bare back, and be
confined with a ball and chain to hard labour for 12 calendar months."
Soon after, in 1821, is this US reference from the Ohio Repository, Canton, Ohio:
"Bread and water, the ball and chain, and even whipping, the convicts
prefer to the solitary cell."
- www.phrases.org.uk [edited]
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Jack Han, a remote cousin, told his family story when I was visiting last year.
His grandfather, an educated peasant in a Hebei village, was sought after by
both sides of the Chinese civil war. His wife wanted him to have nothing to do
with politics but grandpa Han put his foot down and wouldn't be tethered to his
ball and chain. "The country ruled by a woman ends in ruin and the home goes to
the dogs," he scoffed. He joined the Kuomintang soon after WWII and became
county head. It took only three years, however, for him to tumble with the
Nationalists and his line sufferred for generations after he died as a
counter-revolutionist in prison.
in ball & chain today In Oslo national museum, a very nice museum with very rich exhibitions.
在左宗棠疆防与李鸿章海防之间，慈禧选择了疆防，海防毕竟还没有丢失土地的危险。慈禧也曾开明，向西方开放，推广“海国图志”这本书，描述西方的强盛先进，却被守旧派（男人天下）封杀. 这本书指导思想被日本人拿来发扬光大迅速脱贫，成为现代化强国。伊藤博文嘲讽对地对李鸿章说：日本迅速崛起的秘诀是---海国图志。
慈禧掌权时大清已经积重难返，不能全怪慈禧。慈禧晚年的昏聩还有命的原因，看慈禧的一生，她的命很苦啊，早年丧父，青年丧父，中年丧子，晚年又丧子（光绪算她收养的儿子）.或者说她命太硬。换成男皇帝也未必比慈禧好哪里去。
1.
2.
清朝末期整个一个ROTTEN TO THE CORE。
Alan Jackson's song "Small Town Southern Man" features a line about a father building a house with his own hands. The song describes a family of seven living together in a home built by the father.
Meaning:
A 20th century slang term, meaning wife.
Background:
The allusion being to the presumption that a man's wife held him back from
doing the things he really wanted to.
This, of course, refers back to the actual ball and chain, which was a heavy
metal ball secured to a prisoner's leg by means of a chain and manacle. The
ball and chain was in use in both Britain and the USA by the early 19th
century (and possibly much earlier). The earliest citation in print is from
The Times, January 1819:
"They sentence the prisoner to receive 50 stripes on his bare back, and be
confined with a ball and chain to hard labour for 12 calendar months."
Soon after, in 1821, is this US reference from the Ohio Repository, Canton, Ohio:
"Bread and water, the ball and chain, and even whipping, the convicts
prefer to the solitary cell."
- www.phrases.org.uk [edited]
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Jack Han, a remote cousin, told his family story when I was visiting last year.
His grandfather, an educated peasant in a Hebei village, was sought after by
both sides of the Chinese civil war. His wife wanted him to have nothing to do
with politics but grandpa Han put his foot down and wouldn't be tethered to his
ball and chain. "The country ruled by a woman ends in ruin and the home goes to
the dogs," he scoffed. He joined the Kuomintang soon after WWII and became
county head. It took only three years, however, for him to tumble with the
Nationalists and his line sufferred for generations after he died as a
counter-revolutionist in prison.
in ball & chain today In Oslo national museum, a very nice museum with very rich exhibitions.
在左宗棠疆防与李鸿章海防之间，慈禧选择了疆防，海防毕竟还没有丢失土地的危险。慈禧也曾开明，向西方开放，推广“海国图志”这本书，描述西方的强盛先进，却被守旧派（男人天下）封杀. 这本书指导思想被日本人拿来发扬光大迅速脱贫，成为现代化强国。伊藤博文嘲讽对地对李鸿章说：日本迅速崛起的秘诀是---海国图志。
慈禧掌权时大清已经积重难返，不能全怪慈禧。慈禧晚年的昏聩还有命的原因，看慈禧的一生，她的命很苦啊，早年丧父，青年丧父，中年丧子，晚年又丧子（光绪算她收养的儿子）.或者说她命太硬。换成男皇帝也未必比慈禧好哪里去。
1.
2.
清朝末期整个一个ROTTEN TO THE CORE。
Alan Jackson's song "Small Town Southern Man" features a line about a father building a house with his own hands. The song describes a family of seven living together in a home built by the father.