full nelson

English

Chris Masters applying a full nelson to Joey Allen at a Prairie Wrestling Alliance show in Kitchener, Ontario

Etymology

(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.)

Noun

full nelson (plural full nelsons)

1. (wrestling) A hold in which the wrestler applying the hold puts their arms under the arms of their opponent and applies pressure to the back of their opponent's head or neck.
   • 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. L. Burt Company, 1914 June, →OCLC:

     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.

   • 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^[1], →ISSN:

     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.

   • 2021 October 26, Helen Pidd, “‘Got to be accessible’: the Derbyshire MP set on holding surgeries”, in The Guardian‎^[2], →ISSN:

     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

Synonyms

• double nelson

Related terms

• half nelson

Further reading

• full nelson on Wikipedia.Wikipedia