throttlehold

[throt-l-hohld]

noun

1. a stifling grip; stranglehold.

   The new regime kept a throttlehold on academic freedom.

Word History and Origins

Origin of throttlehold¹

First recorded in 1930–35; throttle + (strangle)hold

Example Sentences

Five times last week the French sent out tanks and infantry to ease the throttlehold; they killed 260 Communists and captured 14.

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