full nelson

plural full nelsons

1. governmentA hold in which the wrestler applying the hold puts their arms under the armpits of their opponent and applies pressure to the back of their opponent's head or neck.First known use late 19th c.

   Bouncers had kids in full nelson headlocks as we were rushed out the side door because we were told it was too dangerous. The place was a mess; it was a total riot.

   2017 July 18, Daniel Dylan Wray, quoting Martin Rev, “‘It was like going into the trenches’: how Suicide rioted against plastic punk”, in The Guardian, →ISSN

   2 more examples

   With the quickness of a striking rattler he launched himself full upon Sabor’s back, his strong young arms seeking and gaining a full-Nelson upon the beast, as he had learned it that other day during his bloody, wrestling victory over Terkoz.

   1912 October, Edgar Rice Burroughs, “Tarzan of the Apes”, in The All-Story, New York, N.Y.: Frank A. Munsey Co., →OCLC; republished as Tarzan of the Apes, New York, N.Y.: A[lbert] L[evi] Burt Company, June 1914, →OCLC

   He constantly (and inconsequentially) reports online abuse too, like the person who said he should be “put in a full nelson and thrown in a river” for his mythical sewage vote

   2021 October 26, Helen Pidd, “‘Got to be accessible’: the Derbyshire MP set on holding surgeries”, in The Guardian, →ISSN

   Synonyms: double nelson, double shoulder lock

2. lifestyleA sex position where one partner penetrates the other from behind while holding up the recipient's legs.