束手束脚

束手束腳
shùshǒushùjiǎo
(idiom) restricted; constrained; inhibited

CEDICT

綑绑手脚。形容胆子小，顾虑多。

重編國語辭典

Entry Composition

1 束手 shùshǒu
  1. to have one's hands tied
  2. helpless
  3. unable to do anything about it
2 束 shù
  1. to bind
  2. bunch
  3. bundle
  4. classifier for bunches, bundles, beams of light etc
  5. to control
3 脚 jiǎo
  1. foot
  2. leg (of an animal or an object)
  3. base (of an object)
  4. classifier for kicks

classifiers: 雙, 隻