to grip forcefully; to clutch at; to guard; to control; to hold

to control; to restrain

to hold a pass; to guard (a strategic location)

to strangle; to throttle; to stifle (opinions)

to wring one's hands (literally wring one's wrists)

to the point; concise

to strangle; to throttle

lit. to strangle the front and press the back (idiom); fig. to occupy all key points (military)

to secure a stranglehold (idiom); fig. to hold a strategic pass

brief and to the point (idiom); succinct