full nelson
2
8.1
- noun
- /fʊl ˈnɛlsən/
- Specialized
:
full nelson
- Marcel has him in a full Nelson and Amy is punching him in the stomach.
Examples
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- Ow, that's a full Nelson.
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I'll put you in the full nelson and lick them.
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He put a full nelson on me from behind.
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And he grabs this girl and he grabs her, he's in, like, a full nelson.
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He went with her as she flipped her weight to overbalance him, and in the process, wrapped his arms around her in a full nelson.
Fiction book (1992) -
During the match, he successfully put his opponent in a full nelson, securing a tight grip behind the neck.
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The wrestler applied a full nelson to his rival, causing him to struggle for release from the hold.
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The coach demonstrated how to execute a full nelson at practice, showcasing the proper technique and grip.
How Controlling
Surface Forms
Morphology
The adjective 'full' straightforwardly modifies 'nelson' to indicate a complete or fully applied version of that hold; if a learner knows 'nelson' means a neck-hold, they can infer that 'full nelson' is the intensified form where both arms are locked behind the neck. This follows ordinary adjective+noun composition, so the meaning is directly derivable from the constituents.
Etymology
The noun full nelson comes from wrestling: it is a 'hold' where both arms go under the other person's arms and the hands lock behind their neck, making a very tight, controlling grip. One popular story says the name 'Nelson' was once used for a strong hold, so full nelson now means that tight way of holding someone that stops them from moving.