stranglehold

From strangle +‎ hold.

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stranglehold (plural strangleholds)

1. A grip or control so strong as to stifle or cut off.

   For years the company had a stranglehold on the rest of the industry.

   • 1979 August 25, Jil Clark, “Police Officer Convicted in Beating of Lesbians”, in Gay Community News, volume 7, number 6, page 1:

     Numerous witnesses had come forward at that time to state that they had watched Kelly tackle Symaco and pin her on the floor in a strangle-hold until investigating officers arrived to pry him loose.

   • 2011 July 3, Piers Newbury, “Wimbledon 2011: Novak Djokovic beats Rafael Nadal in final”, in BBC Sport‎:

     That record felt like ancient history as the Djokovic of 2011 overcame a slightly edgy start to take a stranglehold on the match.

stranglehold (third-person singular simple present strangleholds, present participle strangleholding, simple past and past participle strangleheld)

1. to hold a tight grip or control
   • 2014, David Richo, When Love Meets Fear: How to Become Defense-less and Resource-full‎:

     "She does not hold a partner; she strangleholds him. As soon as a man realizes how tightly she holds on, he leaves her."

• clasp, grasp, grip; See also Thesaurus:grasp