A death grip is an extremely tight grip, such as that exerted by a person in a panic for fear for their life. This was commonly thought to be a risk when rescuing a drowning person — that they would cling to their rescuer with a death grip which would cause them both to perish. Investigation showed that this did not actually happen in practise and so breaking a death grip is no longer emphasised in lifesaving. The actual behaviour of a drowning person is more passive as they lack the oxygen to take violent action and an instinctive paddling reflex occurs. The grip can also be lethal to living things.
Famous quotes containing the words death and/or grip:
“No man is an island entire of itself; every man is a piece of the Continent, a part of the main.... Any man’s death diminishes me because I am involved in Mankind; and therefore never send to know for whom the bell tolls; it tolls for thee.”
—John Donne (c. 1572–1631)
“When I first got here, every time you’d say “breast feeding” on the House floor there would be a snicker.... this has been happening since creation. Can we finally get a grip on it?”
—Susan Molinari (b. 1958)