束手束脚 tied hand and foot
Explanation
形容做事过分小心，不敢放手。
It describes someone who is overly cautious in their work and does not dare to let go.
Origin Story
从前，有个胆小的小伙子，他去参加科举考试。考试之前，他认真复习了所有内容，但他还是非常紧张，生怕考不好。考试当天，他坐在考场里，心里七上八下，连笔都握不稳。他绞尽脑汁地回忆书中的知识，却发现自己好像什么都忘了。他写字时，手不停地颤抖，笔尖划出的字迹歪歪扭扭。他心里害怕极了，生怕因为紧张而答题错误，最后只能草草交卷，结果考得很不理想。从那以后，小伙子常常后悔，因为他太紧张，结果束手束脚，无法发挥自己的真实水平。
Once upon a time, there was a timid young man who was going to take the imperial examinations. Before the examination, he had diligently reviewed all the contents, but he was still very nervous, afraid of failing the examination. On the day of the examination, he sat in the examination hall, his heart pounding, unable to even hold the pen steady. He racked his brains to recall the knowledge in the books, but found that he seemed to have forgotten everything. His hands trembled as he wrote, and the characters he wrote were crooked and irregular. He was terribly afraid, fearing that he would make mistakes due to his nervousness, and in the end he could only hand in his paper hastily, resulting in a very unsatisfactory result. From then on, the young man often regretted it, because he was too nervous, as a result, he was constrained and unable to show his true ability.
Usage
主要用于形容一个人在做事的时候过于小心谨慎，不敢放开手脚去做。
Mainly used to describe a person who is too careful and cautious when doing things and does not dare to let go.
Examples
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他做事总是束手束脚，缺乏魄力。
ta zuòshì zǒngshì shù shǒu shù jiǎo,quēfá pòlì
He always acts timidly and lacks decisiveness.
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这次改革，我们不能束手束脚，要大胆创新。
zhè cì gǎigé,wǒmen bù néng shù shǒu shù jiǎo,yào dàdǎn chuàngxīn
In this reform, we cannot hold back, but must dare to innovate..