strangle hold

from The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48
Strangle hold \Stran"gle hold\
   1. (Wrestling) a hold by which one's opponent is choked. It
      is usually not allowed.
      [Webster 1913 Suppl.]

   2. a forceful influence that strongly inhibits freedom of
      action; as, the oil price jump put a stranglehold on the
      economy.
      [PJC]

            Zona believes that Microsoft's entry into this fray
            breaks what has been, by all appearances, Netscape's
            stranglehold on the Internet. Microsoft is not
            licensing any technology from Netscape, and as part
            of this announcement, several alliances which
            historically would have been with Netscape were
            included. The impact of this announcement on
            Netscape was huge.
      [PJC]

            SAN FRANCISCO, November 6, 1996 -- If Microsoft
            Corp. CEO Bill Gates were a plumber, he would
            control all the water in the world and force anyone
            who wanted some of the precious liquid to cut a deal
            with him.
            With that statement, Oracle Corp. CEO Larry Ellison
            closed a question-and-answer session with reporters
            and analysts held here Tuesday at Oracle OpenWorld.
            During his hour-long appearance, Ellison agitated in
            favor of low-cost, generic network computers and
            against Windows-based PCs.
            "The notion of one company controlling the whole
            [computer] industry is shocking and unacceptable,"
            Ellison said, referring to what he describes as
            Microsoft's stranglehold on PCs through its
            ubiquitous Windows operating systems.
      [PJC]
    

[email protected]