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.

From Time Magazine Archive