The story
By analogy with the compressing effects of a corset worn on the body.
Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.
Today it means: With regard to a stable tetrahedrane derivative with four tertiary butyl substituents enveloping the tetrahedrane core, the theory that bonds in the core are prevented from breaking because this would force the substituents closer together, resulting in van der Waals strain. Full definition →
By analogy with the compressing effects of a corset worn on the body.
Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.