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🤠 To tie legs 🤠 A tying method ⛔ To restrict
to hogtie

to hogtie

1 8.2
To stop a person or organization from making progress
  • verb
  • /ˈhɔɡtaɪ/
  • Informal
translation icon : restringir
  • - You're going to cut that out right now or you're going to be hogtied.

Examples

  • To carry out the prank effectively, they planned to hogtie their friend before surprising him.

  • If she made it past the Recruiter (knowing what is known)... we'd go back with her tow, looking for her Recruiter and hogtie her to his GOV's bumper with a note attached...

    Blog text (11)

  • I want you to hogtie the shit out of her.

    The Pinch (2018)

  • Ahmad is tough; you have to hogtie him to get him down.

    Blog text (26)

  • We are coming to a critical time in this country, and we cannot allow our internet to be shut down or to be hogtied.

    Blog text (30)

  • The guard is hogtied and gagged, struggling to free himself.

    Fiction book (1994)

  • Yes, the Mets have been hogtied by players with huge contracts that affected their flexibility, but in the last two seasons.

    Blog text (5)

  • Considering the magnitude of the issues facing the nation and the get-nothing-done partisanship that has hogtied Congress, we believe Washington could use someone who knows how to get to the handshake.

    Blog text (12)

  • The police decided to hogtie the suspect to prevent him from escaping.

  • If you don't behave, I'm going to hogtie you to the chair until you learn your lesson.

Synonyms

to thwart
vsto hogtie
87 7.4

To stop someone from doing what they want

is about a more absolute prevention rather than simply opposing plans
to strangle
vsto hogtie
33 6.7

To limit growth or activity so it cannot continue

is a broader severe restriction that prevents all action or progress
to stymy
vsto hogtie
20 8.7

To stop someone from making progress toward a goal

is more forceful, aiming to completely prevent any forward movement
to hobble
vsto hogtie
14 5.7

To limit the progress or success of something

is harsher, intending to stop action rather than merely impede it
to encumber
vsto hogtie
9 7.6

To make it difficult for someone or something to act

is stronger, aiming to block action entirely rather than just slow it
to hog-tie
vsto hogtie
  • Informal
4 9.3

To tie the arms and legs of a person or animal so they cannot move

is similar but used more generally to block progress not only literal binding
to hedge
vsto hogtie
1 6.4

To limit someone by creating boundaries or rules

is much stronger, aiming to halt action not merely set limits

Antonyms

to enable
459 2.3

To give someone the ability or chance to do something

to empower
157 4.2

Give someone the power and confidence to do something

How Restricted

to paralyze
  • US
266 5.3
to hogtie
  • Informal
1 8.2
to hobble
14 5.7
to hamper
47 4.2
to hinder
75 3.6

Surface Forms

hogtie infinitive
hogtied past
hogtied past participle
hogtying present participle
hogties third person singular

Morphology

hogtie = hog + tie (semi-transparent) = hog + tie

The metaphorical extension from literal tying to 'severely restricting' is predictable but requires figurative inference.

Etymology

Hogtie comes from the image of binding a hog's legs with a tie so it cannot move, so a helpful way to remember it is that when something is 'hogtied' it is badly held back or prevented from acting.