I never knew and got curious and looked it up. I guess it makes more sense than slamming your testicals against the wall.

  • PlaidBaron@lemmy.world
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    1 day ago

    Kind of like ‘having one’s balls in a vice’. It actually refers to the old days when ball bearings were made by hand. It was tedious work and the pressure to make ball bearings for the burgeoning industrial revolution was intense. They were cut out of metal and then polished smooth, secured in a vice. Hence, ‘having your balls in a vice’ meant being under intense pressure.