the.com/hamstring
The muscle that reminds you, mid-sprint, that you skipped warming up.
means As a verb, to cripple someone's effort or ability to act, usually by cutting off some essential resource or support — the muscle sense gave rise to the metaphor.
from Literally the tendons at the back of the knee — 'ham' meaning the back of the thigh (same root as the meat cut) plus 'string' for a tendon or sinew. The verb came first in a brutal literal sense: to hamstring a person or animal meant slashing that tendon to lame them, disabling escape or resistance. From that crippling act, the word spread into the figurative sense we use today — hamstringing a plan, a budget, a team.
- origin
- named from pig leg tendons used as string
- injury risk
- tears most often during explosive sprinting or kicking
- as a verb
- means to cripple or sabotage someone's plans
- recovery time
- mild tears can take six weeks to heal