Yank chain up and down a lot (5,9)
I believe the answer is:
rocky mountains
'yank chain up and down a lot' is the definition.
I can't tell whether this definition defines the answer.
'chain up and down a lot' is the wordplay.
I cannot really understand how this works, but
'chain' could be 'mountain' (synonyms) and 'mountain' is present in the answer.
'lot' could be 'c' and 'c' is found in the answer.
This explanation may well be incorrect...
Can you help me to learn more?
(Another definition for rocky mountains that I've seen is " American skyscrapers".)