deadly embrace
Fatal mutual grip
A deadly embrace is a situation where two parties are locked together in mutual destruction or paralysis, neither able to escape without the other's release.
In computing, it describes a deadlock where two processes each wait for resources the other holds, freezing both indefinitely.
More broadly, it captures any relationship of mutual entrapment: The company and its largest debtor were caught in a deadly embrace—bankruptcy for one meant ruin for both.
Device for catching animals
- webInterwoven filament structure
- snareDevice for catching prey
- quicksandYielding, engulfing sediment
- mireBoggy, waterlogged terrain
entanglement · inescapable · vortex · morass · cul-de-sac · bind · straitjacket · noose
Causing or capable of death
- fatalCausing death or ruin
- mortalSubject to death
- perilousFraught with danger
- ominousSuggesting something bad approaches
sinister · foreboding · dire · murderous · venomous · predatory · dangerous · treacherous
Mutual blocking, no progress
- race conditionOutcome depends on timing
- concurrencyOverlapping execution of tasks
- threadFiber for stitching
- synchronizationAligning timing across systems
Neck-constricting restraint
- strangleholdOppressive, unbreakable control
- death gripExtremely tight, unrelenting grasp
- grappleSeize and fight closely
- clinchSettle beyond doubt
headlock · armlock · submission · wrestling · jiu-jitsu · pin · restrain · immobilize
Using up entirely
- overwhelmingIntensely excessive in force
- all-consumingDemanding total attention
- obsessiveConsumed by fixation
- possessiveOverly attached, often toxically
smothering · intense · fervent · torrid · jealous · codependent · toxic · desperate
trap
Device for catching animals
mire · entanglement · inescapable · vortex · morass · cul-de-sac · bind · straitjacket · noose · cage
lethal
Causing or capable of death
ominous · sinister · foreboding · dire · murderous · venomous · predatory · dangerous · treacherous · malevolent
deadlock
Mutual blocking, no progress
- race conditionOutcome depends on timing
- concurrencyOverlapping execution of tasks
- threadFiber for stitching
synchronization · hang · freeze · lock · starvation · semaphore · blocking
chokehold
Neck-constricting restraint
- strangleholdOppressive, unbreakable control
- death gripExtremely tight, unrelenting grasp
- grappleSeize and fight closely
clinch · headlock · armlock · submission · wrestling · jiu-jitsu · pin · restrain · immobilize · takedown
consuming
Using up entirely
- overwhelmingIntensely excessive in force
- all-consumingDemanding total attention
- obsessiveConsumed by fixation
possessive · smothering · intense · fervent · torrid · jealous · codependent · toxic · desperate · clinging
python
Nonvenomous squeezing snake
coil · entwine · strangle · suffocate · tighten · encircle · compress · anaconda · wrap · smother
deadly embracefreedom
Absence of constraint
letting go · healthy boundaries · open arms · breathing room · independence
deadly, embrace, dead, deathly, deaden, deadened, deadening, embraced, embracing