Holy shit you really are this obtuse.
The last time you were in a meeting and someone said "well my hands are tied..." did you boggle and demand of the room to explain the invisible rope?
No. I would calmly listen to what they were telling me. What I did not do was swear and declare they were being really obtuse. And I would certainly not claim they were literally spitting on me just because I got an answer I didn't like or that was inconvenient to me.
But their hands aren't literally tied! I mean, they literally said their hands were tied! And there was no rope! They were a fucking liar!
Look, either you have a basic understanding of how human communication includes metaphore, analogy, imagery, equation, in which case you deserve to be derided mercilessly for wasting everyone's time with a bad faith argument, or you don't, in which case I apologize for picking on someone handicapped. I don't like kicking puppies.
You can pick! I'm super generous that way!
And, since this needs explaining, I know that you are not literally a puppy. I would not literally kick you, or a puppy. You see, the word "puppy" in this context is just a stand-in to express the concept of something helpless and innocent and powerless and good-natured on top of all that.