hammerlock

plural hammerlocks

1. A hold, in wrestling, in which an opponent's arm is twisted up behind their back.First known use late 19ᵗʰ century.

   All I remember after that is me throwing shit around and him grabbing both arms behind me in a hammerlock.

   2022, Barbara Kingsolver, chapter 7, in Demon Copperhead

   2 more examples

   Then again, there is the hold known as the hammer lock (or arm up the back), which is best done by seizing your opponent by either wrist that may present itself, and pull it up his back, which can be done by using either one or both of your arms, and pull his arm up as far as possible, this hold is generally followed by the very best results […]

   1890, Tom Connors, The Modern Athlete, page 55

   Though one animal may kill another, he thought, nowhere in nature outside of human society is enslavement known—nowhere is there an animal that sets up compounds for its fellows, an animal that invents institutions and complexes of psychic hammerlocks for its own repression.

   1972, John Mills, The Land of Is, page 128

   Synonyms: armlock