The chain that bound her here was of iron links, and galling to her inmost soul, but could never be broken.

But whatever your views on this subject, it's hard to read the book and then happily go back to seeing language as a set of iron-bound rules that are constantly being broken by the morons around you.

One belongs to BHP Billiton, a big mining company, hauling iron ore in trains more than a mile long to ships bound for China and elsewhere in Asia.