raise someone's shackles

verb

Used other than figuratively or idiomatically: see raise, shackle.

Meanings

verbraise someone's shackles (third-person singular simple present raises someone's shackles, present participle raising someone's shackles, simple past and past participle raised someone's shackles)

present singular third person raises someone's shackles · participle present raising someone's shackles · participle past raised someone's shackles · past raised someone's shackles

  1. misconstructionMisconstruction of raise someone's hackles.

    But that one statement alone raised his shackles. “Why?”

    2016 October 1, Rowena Candlish, Worth the Wait (A Novella), Rowena Candlish, →ISBN
    5 more examples

    His remark about her hair had raised her shackles. "You didn't object to spending an occasional night in a comfortable bed so don't try to shift the dwindling cash onto my whims. What's put you in such a bad mood?"

    2001 02, Geri Crowder, The Cat's-Eye, iUniverse, →ISBN, page 138

    A far-off howl raised his shackles. A second howl joined the first. The rogues had found prey.

    (Can we date this quote?), Eliza Crowe, Pick Your Monster, Kim McDougall, →ISBN

    Anything that even smelled of tradition or orthodoxy aroused absolute skepticism in him; actually, it raised his shackles instantly. Ashok had learned to hide the intensity of these feelings under a kindly and caring demeanor.

    2011 August 1, Latika Mangrulkar, Life Happens, and Death Too: Stories and Poems, Strategic Book Publishing, →ISBN, page 73

    and rarely did it raise his shackles, but he didn't particularly care for Red's touch, as flattering as he supposed it was. But this wasn't flattery, Red was working.

    2014 September 22, Kristy McCaffrey, The Dove: Historical Western Romance, K. McCaffrey LLC, →ISBN

    He would be expecting news, but she was wary of sharing the past Christmas celebration for fear it would raise his shackles.

    2015 February 25, Jill Martin Bouteillier, Return to Sable, AuthorHouse, →ISBN
  2. Used other than figuratively or idiomatically: see raise, shackle.
Cite this entry
APA

raise someone's shackles. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/raise%20someone's%20shackles

MLA

“raise someone's shackles.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/raise%20someone's%20shackles. Accessed November 2, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “raise someone's shackles,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/raise%20someone's%20shackles.

Source: raise someone's shackles on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.