All balled up
Whether you're a student of etymology or you don't even know what that word means, tell us how you think this animal expression originated. We'll post the most accurate as well as the most inventive. Email your answer to when_pigs@discovery.com.
In soft and wet snow, a horse's steel shoes would gather snowballs until he could hardly walk, let alone pull his load. Teamsters would watch for this and knock them off. To be all balled up is to be in no condition to respond: "I got so balled up I forgot what I was going to say!"
—Lin_Dah
Taken from the antiquities were balls were a fad and every aristrocatic family participated in it. Young Ladies and gentlemen dressed up for the occasion trying to impress everyone. Thus all balled up indicates ready for a particular occasion.
—megh_911
A cat was very hungry one day so he went to his empty food bowl and sat down and stared at it. But he didn't see any food. He picked it up and held it over his head. Still nothing. He did a one-paw stand and still saw nothing. He stood directly above the bowl and still saw nothing. He curled into a circle and still saw nothing. He curled in the opposite direction and still saw nothing. He put his paws over his eyes and squinted through them and still saw nothing. He twisted his tail and knotted it around his face and still didn't see anything. He tried to untie his tail and got his front paws tied up. He tried to use his back paws and got them tangled with the front. Even when his owner did put food in the bowl, he never realized so because he was all balled up.
—petzbreeder
This comes from the root of balled which is ba and lled. This combined with the root word of up which is, not surprisingly, up. These two can be interpreted as ba meaning sheep and lled meaning led, and up meaning of course up. Put them together and you have sheep led up. Which makes no sense at all hence the meaning of balled up is confused or messed up.
—francismark21
This was probably an expression that women made up using a loom or while trying to knit.
—cymru88
Ball Pythons contort themselves into a ball when hit or picked on — hence we get "all balled up" when were on the defense.
—sushii78
Knitting term dealing with rolling the yarn into a ball.
—mortega
This expression comes from what happens when cats play with balls of yarn and get all tangled up in it. That is why if something is a mess, they say that it is all balled up.
—TBascom
The expression originated by what wool looks like before it is washed. The shearers ball it up to ship out.
—backsore
In soft and wet snow a horses steel shoes would gather snowballs until he could hardly walk. So now it means to be in no condition to respond.
—Nawojcik
I believe this has to do with the plug that forms in the digestive system in animals before they hibernate. Feeling all balled up inside is not comfortable.
Can it be a reference to cat hair balls?
—mdburgos
Refers to an armadillo.
—gimariemo
Perhaps the expression came from the armadillos.
—googins2
You might not be aware of this — few people are — but when you're an animal and you don't have the luxury of riding a bike or driving a car, the next best thing is balling up and rolling down a hill. You get there much faster!
—utohfiveo
When dogs and cats turn into balls when they sleep.
—goober1310
The way some animals sleep.
—patofjoy
Based on the protective instincts of an armadillo who "balls" up when face with danger.
—fitpanther
This one came from the hedghog's act of balling up when he gets frightened.
—moon_tamara
This must come from the ability of some mammals to roll themselves into a tight little ball to conserve body heat — like rolling yarn into ball!! How's that sound?
—lcjahn
When porcupines roll up in a ball to defend themselves.
—tanchales
