half nelson

noun

: a wrestling hold in which one arm is thrust under the corresponding arm of an opponent and the hand placed on the back of the opponent's neck compare full nelson

Examples of half nelson in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Tensions were high in this series — a rematch from the 1985 East semis won by Boston, 4-2 — and the bad blood boiled over in Game 3 at the Pontiac Silverdome, when Bill Laimbeer put Larry Bird in a half nelson as the two tumbled to the floor. —Marlowe Alter, Detroit Free Press, 26 May 2020

Word History

First Known Use

1877, in the meaning defined above